§ Mr. Paul Deanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services when he will make available the working paper on the modernisation of social security operations to which he referred in the debate on the Address on 21 November.
267W
§ Mrs. ChalkerI am placing a working paper entitled "A Strategy for Social Security Operations" in the Library of the House today.
As I explained to the House, we are in the very early stages of this important planning exercise. Our intention is to make the best use of modern technology to handle routine administrative work and release staff partly to achieve savings but more importantly to give a better service to the public. We shall be particularly concerned to ensure that privacy and security are properly protected. Finn proposals for change will not be put forward until planning, including assessment of the resource implications, is further advanced. In the meantime, we would welcome comments on the working paper.