§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many staff in local offices of his Department currently administer (a) supplementary benefit and (b) contributory benefit; and what were the comparable figures for May 1979.
§ Mr. NewtonThe information requested is as follows:
353W
The number of staff administering (a) supplementary benefit and (b)contributory benefit at the Department's local offices 24 November 1982 1 May 1979 Supplementary benefit 35,800 30,890 Contributory benefit 25,320 31,650 Notes:
1. The figures supplied are of the number of staff allocated to cope with the workloads then current.
2. The figures exclude security guards and staff engaged on legal aid assessment work.
§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many staff in the Wandsworth offices of his Department at Irene house, Arndale house and Parkgate Road, currently administer (a) supplementary benefit and (b) contributory benefit; and what were the comparable figures for May 1979;
(2) how many people are currently in receipt of (a) supplementary benefit and (b) contributory benefit, from the Wandsworth offices of his Department at Irene house, Arndale house and Parkgate Road; and what were the comparable figures for May 1979.
§ Mr. NewtonThe information requested is as follows:
The number of staff adminstering (a) supplementary benefit and (b)contributory benefit at the Department's Wandsworth offices 24 November 1982 1 May 1979 Balham SB 122 70 (Irene House) CB 47 53 Battersea SB 123 113 (Parkgate Road) CB 31 37 Wandsworth SB 92 74 (Arndale House) CB 53 59
People in receipt of (a) supplementary benefit and (b) contributory benefit from the Department's Wandsworth offices 23 November 1982 16 May 1979 Balham SB 11,914 5,441 (Irene House) CB 1,384 2,158 Battersea SB 11,933 8,528 (Parkgate Road) CB 997 1,581 Wandsworth SB 8,450 6,306 (Arndale House) CB 1,298 1,571 Notes:
1. The staffing figures supplied are of the number of staff allocated to cope with the workloads then current.
2. Claims statistics: Figures for supplementary benefits are the number of cases in action on the dates shown. Figures for contributory benefits are the number of claims received in the four week period ended on the date shown excluding retirement pension claims, which are processed centrally for the London area and are not available in respect of individual offices.
3. The number of staff needed to do the work required in social security local offices is calculated and allocated on the basis of comprehensive and detailed statistical analyses and forecasts of the workload which cover a large number of factors, of which the number of claims expected at any particular time is only one. It is, thus, misleading simply to compare numbers of claims with numbers of staff at any particular time. The situation in Wandsworth is also complicated by the fact that the Balham office experienced a boundary change in November 1981 and this has affected both staffing levels and workload volumes.
§ Mr. Dubsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are currently in receipt of (a) supplementary benefit and (b) contributory benefit; and what were the comparable figures for May 1979.
§ Mr. NewtonFor supplementary benefit I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 30 November [Vol 33, c.122]. For contributory benefits, the dates for which information is available differ for each benefit. The best 354W information available was set out in my reply to the hon. Member for Ormskirk (Mr. Kilroy-Silk) on 1 December—[Vol. 33 c. 229–34].