§ Mr. Michieasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many documents have been presented for stamping at the Sheffield stamp office in the last full year for which figures are available; how many of these documents are not sent by post; whether the number of documents presented to the Sheffield stamp office has increased or decreased in the last five years; how many of these documents originate from solicitors' offices and town 347W halls; how large an area the Sheffield stamp office covers; and how many jobs will be lost by closing the Sheffield stamp office.
§ Mr. MooreThe information requested is as follows:
i. Documents presented for stamping in Sheffield in the last five years Documents 1979 106,217 1980 68,108 1981 69,036 1982 98,984 1983 113,582
ii. Documents not sent by post in the last five years Documents 1979 63,593 1980 31,651 1981 27,946 1982 50,031 1983 44,899 iii. No records are kept of the presenters of documents.
iv. The Sheffield office does not cover any specific geographical area, though the indications are that 90 per cent. of its work comes from Yorkshire and Humberside and most of the remainder from Derbyshire and Nottingham.
v. No jobs will be lost by closing the Sheffield office. The work in stamp offices is increasing and the Board of Inland Revenue announced on 30 March an increase in stamp office manpower. The closure of the Sheffield office enables the posts there to be redeployed more effectively.