§ 68. Mr. WigleyTo ask the Attorney-General whether he has received any further representations concerning the office of the Social Security Commissioner for Wales in Cardiff.
§ The Solicitor-General (Sir Nicholas Lyell)Since 1 January 1988 my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor and I have received 22 representations about the closure in August 1986 of this office, of which none have been from appellants.
§ Mr. WigleyIs the Solicitor-General aware that there is a strong feeling in Wales that this office should not have been closed? For the sake of convenience, and for hearing cases in the medium of the Welsh language, there should be such a facility in the capital city of Wales because there is such a facility in the capital city of Scotland and, I understand, in Northern Ireland. Will he look at this again, because we had this facility until 1986 and should certainly have it in future?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralI understand the feeling, but I must tell the hon. Gentleman that since 1986 nobody has asked for a Welsh-speaking commissioner. Only two or three of the four days available each month have been taken up with oral hearings. Most of the hearings are written, and from representations made to the commissioners many Welsh people in the north seem to find Liverpool or London more convenient than Cardiff.