§ Mr. Whitneyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services which union is responsible for causing the disruption in his Department which is resulting in serious delays in the issue of pension books.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe recent delays in the issue of pension order books, which I very much regret, was due to a combination of factors—a ban on their members working overtime by the Society of Civil and Public Servants and the Civil and338W Public Servants Association which coincided with a planned change to a new computer system at the Department's Newcastle central office, and postal delays. However, I am glad to say that there is now little delay in the production of pension order books, although some are still subject to postal delays which show marked regional variation. Any pensioner who is in difficulty because of these delays should contact his local social security office.