§ Mr. Johnasked the Secretary of State for Social Services further to his reply to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East on 30 November 1981, Official Report, column 32, if he is in a position to announce the outcome of his Department's review of the war pensions regional organisation; and if he will give an assurance that there will be no reduction in the war pensioners welfare service.
§ Mr. RossiAs a result of the review, I conclude that it would be possible to deploy the present welfare staff more effectively if the non-welfare work of the war pensions offices were done centrally. With the agreement of the Central Advisory Committee on War Pensions, we propose that the non-welfare work of one war pensions office be transferred experimentally to the Department's North Fylde central office, where the bulk of war pensions work is already centralised. We are considering which war pensions office to choose for this purpose. I gladly assure the hon. Member that we intend no reduction in the welfare service and that any proposed changes will be the subject of full consultation with the interested parties.