§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) for what purpose his London Southern Region is arranging a third county seminar; what the costs will be; who will attend; and what were the reasons, who attended and at what costs for the two seminars held in 1975;
(2) what is the effect on manning of the social services offices and administration 1026W on occasions when up to 70 staff attend seminars for a week; and whether, in view of the need for cuts in public expenditure, he will end these seminars forthwith.
§ Mr. DeakinsThe objective of the one-day county seminars arranged by London South Region is to improve liaison between the local staffs of my Department and those of local authority social service departments, and I encourage such initiatives. The two seminars held in 1975 covered the counties of West Sussex and Surrey, and the third planned for later this year will cover the county of Kent. The meetings are attended by representatives of staff at various levels. Precise costs are not readily available but are confined to travelling and subsistence allowance for the one day involved.
Attendance at these seminars has a minimal effect on the various offices from which seminar members are drawn and there is no reduction in the standard of service to the public. While the question of training needs is always under review, I have no proposals at present to end these seminars.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the reason for the seminar held on 7th to 9th April at Sunningdale under the auspices of his Department; who attended and at what costs; why attendance of the two Permanent Secretaries and the Chief Scientists was necessary; and, on a basis of hourly salary and wage rates, what were the total costs involved in this seminar.
§ Mr. DeakinsThe subject of this seminar was social security research. The purpose of it was to enable officials and academics interested in social security research to discuss the contribution which social security research can make to the formation of policy and to identify possible topics for future research. The seminar was attended by 40 academics and 30 officials. A further 20 officials were present for part of the time only. The two Permanent Secretaries and the Chief Scientist of my Department attended for particular sessions because of their responsibility for my Department's social security research programme and the importance which they attached to the 1027W seminar. The cost of accommodation and meals was £1,300. Officials attended the seminar as part of their ordinary duties. The only other expenditure incurred was on minor items, mainly travel. This expenditure cannot be calculated without disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make a statement on the staff summer school held for social workers from five local authority social services departments held at Cambridge between 30th June and 6th July 1976; who attended and for what purposes and at what costs; and, in view of the Government's call for public expenditure cuts, what would be the annual savings to the Exchequer if all such schools were ended.
§ Mr. DeakinsThe Summer School is designed to give selected junior staff of the Department an opportunity to study the wider aspects of social services away from the day-to-day pressures of their work. Staff attending are mainly from local offices and are concerned with national insurance and Supplementary Benefit matters. To enable DHSS staff better to understand the work of local authority social workers—and vice versa—up to five social workers are invited to join the Summer School.
The number of participants at the school is limited to 80. Five are social workers, to come from the Department of Employment, one from DHSS Northern Ireland, and the remainder are staff of DHSS. The school is run by a Director of Studies, normally a professor of some repute in the field of social services, aided by eight tutors. The total cost of running the school is at present approximately £8,000.
This is the only Summer School run by the Department. If it were to be discontinued the saving would be about £8,000 per annum.