§ Sir B. Rhys Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is now the number of staff required to administer the payment of family allowances;
418Wto be completed within the next five years.
what is the total administrative expense; what is the amount of the charge by the Post Office for the encashment of weekly orders; and what is the nature and cost of the services provided by other Government departments.
§ Mr. O'Malley,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 22nd July 1974], circulated the following information:
The equivalent of about 2,000 full-time staff are now employed in my Department on the administration of family allowances. This figure makes appropriate allowance for managerial and common service staff. The total cost of administration is about £14 million a year, including an estimated charge of £8 million by the Post Office and about £1½ million for services provided by other Government Departments mainly in respect of superannuation, accommodation and stationery.
§ Sir B. Rhys Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will publish an estimate of the extent of 419W the additional workload in post offices and the number of extra staff required to handle the payment of family allowances for first children and what would be the comparable information for other Government Departments.
§ Mr. O'Malley,pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 22nd July 1974], circulated the following information:
The additional number of orders required to be encashed by the Post Office would be about 150 million a year. The effect this would have on the Post Office's manpower requirements is a matter for the Post Office. As the services provided in respect of family allowances by other Government Departments are not staff intensive, the extension of the scheme should have negligible effect on the staffing of those Departments.
§ Sir B. Rhys Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what training and qualifications are necessary for staff handling the administration of family allowances in her Department; and what training and qualifications would be needed for additional staff required to handle the setting up and payment of allowances for first children.
§ Mr. O'Malley,pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 22nd July 1974], circulated the following information:
Most of the staff on family allowances work are clerical officers; in addition there are supervisory staff of Executive grades and there are clerical assistants. Recruitment to these grades is subject to the usual Civil Service entry qualifications. Initial training of clerical officers covers 16 weeks; training of executive staff takes longer and training of clerical assistants is shorter.
To handle the setting up and payment of allowances for first and only children a large number of extra staff in these grades would be needed. They would require the same qualifications as the existing staff; some would require the normal training, others would need only a few weeks.
§ Sir B. Rhys Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services on what date the ICL System 4 multipurpose computer installation at Newcastle came into regular use for payment 420W of family allowances; what is the number of allowance payments it is capable of handling; and what provision has been made for the payment of family allowances for first children.
§ Mr. O'Malley,pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 22nd July 1974], circulated the following information:
Payment of family allowances was transferred to the ICL computer installation in stages from April 1971 to December 1972; the installation is capable of handling payments to the extra three million families who would be brought in if family allowances were extended to first and only children.
Computer capacity is thus not a constraint on the introduction of family allowances for the first children. Provision of information for the computer and the provision of staff and premises for this purpose is, of course, a different matter.
§ Sir B. Rhys Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is her estimate of the administrative cost of extending the payment of family allowances to include first children; what is the estimated cost of setting up; how many extra staff would be required; and what change this represents since similar information was provided in written answers on 21st July 1970.
§ Mr. O'Malley,pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 22nd July 1974 Vol. 804, c. 107] circulated the following information:
The extension would require the equivalent of about 1,000 full time staff and would cost about £8½ million a year plus a further £7½ million for setting up. The staff requirement is based on the same assumptions as used for the answer on 21st July 1970 but the lower cost of setting up results from a closer and more detailed study than was then possible.
§ Sir B. Rhys Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what estimate she has made of the extra manhours which would be required in the administration of social benefits by her Department, other than family allowances, if family allowances were increased and extended to first children and the additional benefit so conferred were made a disregard.
421W
§ Mr. O'Malley,pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 22nd July 1974; circulated the following information:
If increases in family allowances and their extension to first and only children were:
the need for extra man hours in the administration of national insurance and supplementary benefits at the time the
- (a) not accompanied by corresponding changes in the increases for children payable under the national insurance scheme and
- (b) disregarded in addition to the present disregards in the supplementary benefit scheme
EXPORTS (FOB) OF AEROSPACE PRODUCTS £ million 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 Aero-engines: New 89.3 55.2 34.5 43.3 69.5 80.7 Parts 46.0 55.4 54.9 56.9 70.6 105.4 Aircraft, new complete (including balloons and airships) 65.4 104.8 51.3 56.1 51.2 90.0 Aircraft parts 73.3 74.6 81.9 106.4 141.5 155.7 TOTAL EXPORTS AND RE-EXPORTS 274.1 290.0 222.6 262.6 322.8 432.8 Used aero-engines (not included above) 24.7 25.6 24.8 40.6 51.4 55.1
NET EXPORTS (FOR) OF AEROSPACE PRODUCTS* £ million 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 Recorded exports of aircraft, engines and parts (including used aero-engines) 298.8 315.6 247.4 303.2 384.2 498.9† Less goods imported for process and re-imported goods 51.7 52.8 46.0 82.3 97.3 144.9 NET EXPORTS 247.1 262.8 201.4 220.9 286.9 354.0 * Export figures recorded in the Overseas Trade Statistics include re-exports. Because of the growth of collaborative projects in the aerospace industry and the considerable volume of aerospace products now re-imported for repair, modification or process, goods imported for process and re-imported goods need to be taken into account in arriving at export sales. This table, derived from data available on subscription to Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Bill of Entry Section, makes the necessary adjustments. † Including guided weapons and missiles.