§ Mr. Beithasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what reductions he is considering in the staff of his Department's Alnwick offices; and to what extent these reductions involve the centralisation of work at other offices.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerThese reductions arise from the merger of the Alnwick and Durham divisions announced in my reply of 8 May to my hon. Friend the Member for New Forest (Mr. McNair-Wilson).—[Vol. 984, c.237.] The merger involves the centralisation of management and administration in a new divisional office at Newcastle, with resulting economies of scale. The Alnwick office will become an area office for local services to the farming community. The staffing implications have yet to be worked out in consultation with representatives of the staff.