Lord Oramasked Her Majesty's Government:
What has been the result of the measures taken to reduce the number of unworked papers in Inland Revenue offices as announced in a Written Answer on 28th June 1985 [H.L. Deb., col. 945].
§ The Secretary of State for Employment (Lord Young of Graffham)At October 1985 unworked papers totalled 6,224,000 (including items over 14 days old of 2,767,000). In November 1985 the Inland Revenue launched a major management initiative [Hansard, 15.11.85, Vol. 86, No. 8, col. 318]. By April 1986 the total papers had been reduced to 4,522,000 (including 1,825,000 items over 14 days old). This represents a significant improvement and every possible step continues to be taken to overcome the remaining backlog of work.