§ Mr. Needhamasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has to send girocheques by second class post.
§ Mr. NewtonNone. The savings expected from an experiment of this kind, which concerned certain payments of incapacity benefits, have fallen by two thirds since it was originally authorised as a result of the introduction of statutory sick pay. We shall, however, give further consideration to the possibility of undertaking a pilot scheme to establish whether there remains scope for achieving useful economies without causing hardship or inconvenience to claimants.