§ Mr. Wareingasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the present level of staffing of his Department's offices in Liverpool; and what was the comparable figure for May 1979.
§ Mr. MajorInformation is not available in the precise form requested. The approved complement for May 1979 and the proposed staff allocation for 1 July 1986 in respect of Liverpool offices are set out in the table. Over the period significant changes have occurred in the composition of the offices, the areas served have in some cases changed and there have also been significant changes in social security work loads. Most importantly the statutory sick pay scheme and the introduction of housing benefit has reduced manpower requirements.
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Complement May 1979 Staff allocation 1 July 1986 Belle Vale ILO 134 118 Bootle ILO *204 †155 Breckfield ILO 147 164 City ILO 159 ‡116 Crosby ILO 105 111 Edgehill ILO 123 ||98 Garston ILO 127 ¶98 Huyton ILO 161 168 Kirkby ILO 135 †182 Norris Green AO 57 68 Toxteth ILO *124 ||¶166 West Derby AO 66 79 West Derby NIO 81 47 * In 1979 the Area Office and National Insurance Office had not been integrated. The combined complement of both offices is given. † In January 1983 30 posts were transferred to Kirkby ILO because of a boundary change. In 1983–84 two posts were transferred to Kirkby ILO following re-location of work in respect of Walton prison. ‡In 1984–85 nine posts were removed from the office following transfer of social security appeal tribunal work to the office of the President of the Tribunal. || In January 1982 18 posts, and in April 1983 two posts, were transferred to Toxteth ILO following boundary changes. ¶ In April 1983 12 posts were transferred to Toxteth ILO following boundary changes. Abbreviations: ILO—Integrated Local Office; AO—Area Office (dealing with supplementary benefit only); NIO — National Insurance Office.