asked the Secretary of State for the Environment how many people were employed by local authorities in each of the last 10 years, to the latest convenient date, divided between county councils, district councils and metropolitan authorities.

Separate figures for types of authority have been available only since 1975 through the joint manpower watch. The following table gives the combined totals for full and part-time employees in local authorities in England and Wales.

	Thousands
June 1970	2,162
June 1971	2,234
June 1974	2,443
June 1975	2,556
June 1979	2,611
September 1979	2,557
(latest published figures from the joint manpower watch)

I have made no estimate of the numbers of people who will be employed in local government in 1980–81. The outcome will depend on decisions by individual local authorities. But I hope the reduction shown in the September 1979 figures will continue.