§ Mr. Merlyn Reesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the decision to put a specialist claims control team into the area of Leeds, South constituency is caused by a shortage of staff in the Merrion Street office; and if he will publish the criteria on which the team is operating together with a report on its activities.
§ Mr. Rossi:I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to my right hon. Friend's reply to his letter of 13 September 1982. The visit to the Merrion Street local office had been arranged for some time and is part of a cycle of visits planned for the region as a whole.
As regards the criteria on which the team is operating, I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to my replies to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Short) on 23 June 1982—[Vol. 26, c. 127] and 6 July 1981—[Vol. 8, c. 33].
The team has not yet completed the exercise and hence it is not possible to report on its activities. I shall write to the right hon. Gentleman as soon as the information is available.