§ Mr. David PorterTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will undertake a survey of all offices and agencies for which she 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 she will make a statement on her policy on hours of staff working each week.
§ Mr. Michael Forsyth[holding answer 8 March 1993]: The Department's policy is to ensure that all arrangements relating to the hours of work of staff maintain the overall efficiency of the Department and its services to the public. Recent customer satisfaction surveys in the employment service show high levels of overall satisfaction with the services provided by their offices, the opening hours of which are tailored by management to meet the needs of the local community. We are, nonetheless, happy to arrange for a sample survey to be undertaken.