§ Mr. Cyril Smithasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the average waiting time in the Manchester region between claims being received from companies for refund of temporary employment subsidy and payment being made; how many staff are employed on this work; and if there are any plans to speed up the payment of these arrears.
§ Mr. Peter Morrison:The average time between receipt of a claim under the temporary short-time working compensation scheme and despatch of payment in the North-West region is about 12 weeks. There are 21 staff involved on the work, and new staff have recently been drafted in to help clear the backlog.