§ Mr. David PorterTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will undertake a survey of all offices and agencies for which he has responsibility to ascertain to what extent staff supplying a service to the public are curtailing their work on a Friday afternoon earlier than other days of the week; and if he will make a statement on his policy on hours of staff working each week.
Mr. John M. TaylorI have no plans to carry out such a survey.
In common with civil servants generally, the conditioned working hours of most full-time staff in the Lord Chancellor's Department and its agencies are 41 gross per week in London and 42 gross per week elsewhere.
Subject to the requirement for all staff to fulfil their conditioned hours, managers have discretion to vary the office hours of individual staff. Court offices are open to the public from 10 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday. Chief clerks ensure that sufficient staff are available at all times when courts are open to the public.