HC Deb 25 October 1971 vol 823 cc274-5W
Mr. Meacher

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much has been spent in each of the last five years on, respectively, the building of new offices for use by the Supplementary Benefits Commission and on the renovation of old ones; and what percentage each of these figures represents of the total annual social security budget for each of these years.

Mr. Dean

There is no separate rehousing of supplementary benefit local offices by themselves. They are being modernised and rehoused as part of an overall programme to provide new-style all-purpose social security offices. In the past five years 236 such offices have been rehoused.

The financial responsibility for this programme rests with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, who informs me that no separate figure for expenditure on supplementary benefit offices is available.