asked the Minister for the Civil Service (1) whether he will set out details of those civil servants and public employees to whom London allowance is paid, giving (a) the numbers involved and (b) breaking down the total between Government Departments;(2) whether he will set out the annual cost of the London allowance breaking down the total between Government Departments.

I can answer only for the Civil Service. The accompanying table gives, by Department, the numbers of non-industrial civil servants working in inner and outer London on 1st January 1976, together with the annual cost of paying these numbers the appropriate London weighting allowances—inner London £465, outer £275. Comparable figures for industrial civil servants are not centrally available and could not be collected in time. But on 1st January 1975, 6,928 industrial civil servants worked in inner London and 12,402 in outer London. Assuming that these numbers were paid the current rates of London weighting, introduced on 1st July 1975, the annual costs would be £3,221,520 for inner London and £3,410,550 for outer London, giving a total for industrial civil servants of £6,632,070.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service whether he will set out the current terms and aims of the London allowance.

London weighting is paid to civil servants employed in London other than Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Secretares and equivalent grades. The rates, last revised on 1st July 1975, are £465 for inner London—within five miles of Charing Cross—and £275 for outer London, between five and 18 miles from Charing Cross plus certain additions. Since 1974 the allowance has been based on recommendations made in Advisory Report No. 4 by the Pay Board, which considered that its basic justification was to ensure comparability of real earnings for people working in London and elsewhere. London weighting is thus intended to compensate for the higher costs of travel, housing and other items as well as for the wear and tear of travel and for lower housing standards.