asked the Prime Minister how many permanent secretaries, second permanent secretaries and under secretaries there were in the Civil Service in 1964; how many there are at present; and whether she has any plans for reducing their numbers.

The earliest year for which figures are held centrally is 1965. The following table shows the number of posts in the grades specified at 1 April 1965, 1 April 1979 and 1 January 1982.

	1 April 1965	1 April 1979	1 January 1982
Permanent Secretary	*37	†26	‡24
Second Permanent Secretary		15	15
Total	37	41	39
Under Secretary	399	623	552
* Separate figures for second permanent secretary are not available.
† Includes permanent secretaries to Treasury and CSD and secretary of the Cabinet.
‡ Includes permanent secretary to Treasury and secretary of the Cabinet.

As my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Treasury, informed the House on 1 December last, following the publication of the report by Sir Geoffrey Wardale all Government Departments have been asked to undertake a rigorous assessment of their senior Civil Service posts. These reviews are now nearly complete and decisions will be taken after Departments' proposals have been examined.