§ Mr. Fittasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the total cut-back in terms of finance in the home help scheme in the Western Area Board and Eastern Area Board in Northern Ireland; and how many workers have been made redundant because of the cutbacks.
§ Mr. MoyleIn each of these areas the allocation of funds by the board for the home help service exceeds expenditure in the previous year; so there has been no cut-back in financial terms. Expenditure in the current year has, however, run well ahead of the allocation, and has therefore to be held back to that amount. This has been affected generally by a review of hours worked in particular cases.
Most home helps are employed on a casual basis and the total workforce is continually changing. None has been declared redundant in the two areas, although in the Western area up to 30 have been temporarily stopped but remain on the Board's list for employment.