§ Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many persons(a)of working age and(b)pensioners were in receipt of supplementary benefit in May 1979 from his offices in the borough of Walsall; and if he will give the present figures;
(2) what was the number of staff employed at his Department's offices in the borough of Walsall in May 1979 and now.
§ Mr. Newton:The information requested is as follows:
1. The number of people in receipt of supplementary benefit from offices in the borough of Walsall May 1979 *August 1982 (a) Working age 6,381 17,317 (b) Pensioners 9,204 10,231 *The latest date for which information is available. 2. The number of staff at offices in the borough of Walsall 1 May 1979 4 October 1982 Walsall East 157 157 Walsall West 159 149 Notes:
1. The staffing figures for 4 October 1982 are for the number of staff employed on that date. Comparable information is not available for earlier years and details supplied are of the number of staff allocated to cope with the workload then current.2. The number of staff needed to do the work required in social security local offices is calculated and allocated on the basis of comprehensive and detailed statistical analyses and forecasts of the workload which cover a large number of factors, of which the number of claims expected at any particular time is only one. It is thus misleading simply to compare numbers of claims with numbers of staff at any particular time. Furthermore the boundaries of Walsall West office have changed during the period covered, and this has affected both staffing levels and workload volumes.