§ 26. Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people are currently employed in the Scottish Office; what was the figure in May 1979; in each case at what cost in 1996 prices; and if he will make a statement. [38734]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonEight thousand two hundred and thirty-three people were employed in the Scottish Office, excluding the Scottish Prison Service, at 1 April 1996. In the same period, numbers in the Prison Service rose from 2,582 to 4,439.
The current staff costs are £109 million for the Scottish Office, excluding the Scottish Prison Service, and 85.3 million for the Scottish Prison Service: it is not possible except at disproportionate cost to produce accurate figures for 1979 on a fully comparable basis.