§ Mr. WelshTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many employees of the Office for National Statistics there were broken down by UK region, indicating the wage bill(a) in total and (b) by region for (i) 1998–99 and (ii) 1999–2000 and separately identifying the costs of London allowances and weighting. [155311]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Andrew Welsh, dated 26 March 2001:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the number of employees in the Office for National Statistics Office (ONS) in total and by region. (155311)
The ONS employed 3,384 staff in 1998/99 and 3,449 staff in 1999/00. The breakdown by region and salary cost is shown in the table below.
1998–99 1999–2000 Location Employee headcount Pay bill(£000) Employee headcount Pay bill(£000) London 914 23,742 890 24,242 Newport 898 16,575 974 17,398 Runcorn 143 2,461 156 2,619 Southport 634 9,051 644 9,161 Titchfield 795 15,279 785 15,696 Total 3,384 67,108 3,449 69,116 London Weighting was abolished for new entrants in 1994 and existing staff retained it as an allowance until 1997, when it was consolidated into the London pay scale.