§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are currently employed(a) in Wales and (b) in Newcastle upon Tyne in the work of the National Insurance Contributions Agency; and what were the corresponding figures for five and 10 years ago. [25014]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotThe administration of the Contributions Agency is the responsibility of Mrs. Faith Boardman, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. Dafydd Wigley, dated 23 May 1995:
As Chief Executive of the Contributions Agency, I have responsibility for answering on operational matters relating to the Agency. I have been asked to reply to your question about how many people are currently employed in a) Wales and b) Newcastle Upon Tyne in the work of the Contributions Agency; and what were the corresponding figures for five and ten years ago.The Agency currently employs 205 staff in Wales. This includes staff both in Field Operations and the Agency's Civil Recovery Section in Cardiff.In being asked to supply a figure for the number of staff employed in Newcastle Upon Tyne I have interpreted this to mean those staff who work on the Agency's Newcastle Estate (ie excluding those staff employed in Field Operations offices in the Newcastle area). The number of staff currently employed by the Agency at its Newcastle estate is 5598.The Contributions Agency was established as a "Next Steps" agency in April 1991, and prior to that the Contributions Unit had operated within the Department of Social Security from April 1990. Whilst I cannot provide exact details of the number of staff employed by the Contributions Unit in Wales five years ago, I can tell you that the total number of staff employed in our Wales and Severn Estuary Divisions at 1 May 1990 was 307. However, some 604W of the staff from the Severn Estuary Division would have been working in its two offices located in England, and records of the precise split in staff numbers between England and Wales have not been kept.The number employed by the Contributions Unit at the Newcastle estate on 1 May 1990 was 2029.I regret that I am unable to supply corresponding figures for ten years ago as they are not kept in that form. The records of the number of staff actually employed on contributions duties cannot be dis-aggregated from the overall staffing of the Department of Social Security.I hope you will find this answer helpful. If I can be of any further assistance please let me know.
§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many jobs will be lost from the Porthmadog office of the Contributions Agency as a result of the centralisation of the work of the agency to North East England; and if he will make a statement. [25006]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotThe administration of the Contributions Agency is the responsibility of Mrs. Faith Boardman, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. Dafydd Wigley, dated 23 May 1995:
As Chief Executive of the Contributions Agency, I have responsibility for answering questions on operational matters relating to the Agency. I have been asked to reply to your question about how many jobs will be lost from the Porthmadog office of the Contributions Agency as a result of centralisation of work to North East England.Over the last four years the Contributions Agency has centralised some work in Newcastle Upon Tyne while maintaining a local presence. In many areas we have also gradually been reducing the number of local offices by concentrating Field staff in larger, more viable units. Nationally, the combined effect has been to improve the flexibility, efficiency and quality of the service provided. At present I am looking at proposals to establish a Call Centre to handle, on a national basis, all unsolicited telephone calls, but as yet no decision has been made as to where this would be located, and we are conducting a comprehensive national review of the overall organisation and numbers of our Field Offices in order to see how far we should extend the efficiencies already achieved in some areas.Since the Contributions Agency was formed in April 1991 four staff have been employed at the Porthmadog Office. However, with the need to achieve operational efficiencies it has quite recently been decided to transfer the processing of clerical work dealt with at Porthmadog to our office in Rhyl. This has resulted in a reduction of two clerical staff at Porthmadog.As has been the case since April 1991, the Benefits Agency in Porthmadog will continue to provide a counter service for customers making enquiries about National Insurance matters. If a customer wishes a private interview with a Contributions Agency officer this can be arranged and can take place in the Porthmadog office. Additionally, there is a Customer Access Telephone in the reception area of Porthmadog office which allows the customer to speak directly to Contributions Agency staff free of charge.