asked the Minister for the Civil Service what were the number of civil servants in administrative, professional, technical and scientific grades on the most recent date available; and how these figures compare with those on 1st April 1976.

The numbers of home civil servants in the groups which include most of these grades were as follows:—

	1st April 1976	1st January 1977
Administration Group	253,000	254,000
Professional and Technology Group	41,000	41,000
Science Group	18,000	18,000

These figures are not fully reconcilable with the published staff in post figures because they have been obtained from a different source. They are nevertheless broadly indicative of the numbers in-involved. Figures compatible with the staff in post returns are collected annually: the latest such figures relate to 1st April 1976.