§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current average waiting time for adjudications relating to reasons of dismissal in cases where claimants were waiting for unemployment benefit.
§ Mr. NichollsInformation is not available in the precise form requested. However the speed with which adjudication officers make decisions—that is, the time taken between their receiving a referral and reaching a decision after making all the necessary inquiries—is monitored in a 5 per cent. sample of cases.
The sample shows that, for the three-month period ending 30 June 1988, the percentage of cases decided within four weeks of referral to an adjudication officer, on whether a claimant was dismissed due to misconduct, was 62.6 per cent.
§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many cases are currently being dealt with by unemployment benefit adjudication officers in the constituency of Stoke-on-Trent, North;
(2) how many unemployment benefit adjudication officers are available to serve the constituency of Stoke-on-Trent, North.
§ Mr. NichollsFigures are not available by constituency of the number of cases considered by adjudication officers, or the number of adjudication officers who serve that area.
However on 2 December 1988, the total number of cases currently in the process of adjudication arising on claims for unemployment benefit in the adjudication office area of Staffordshire, which includes the Stoke-on-Trent, North constituency, was 3,204.
The number of adjudication officers in post on 2 December 1988 in the Staffordshire adjudication office was nine.