§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many persons have resigned from the programming and experts computer sections of the computer services division of Customs and Excise headquarters in Southend in each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what estimate he has made of the gap between the salary levels of computer programmers in the computer services division of the Customs and Excise headquarters in Southend and comparable positions in private industry in the south-east of England; and what steps he will take to narrow the differential;
(3) why the headquarters of Customs and Excise in Southend have initiated a new programme to engage a private firm to undertake a major computer-based project for the computer services division; and if he will make a statement;
(4) if he will introduce a regional variation in additional payments to ensure that the Customs and Excise computer services division is in a position to offer comparable salaries to those in private industry; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HayhoeI shall let my hon. Friend have a reply as soon as possible.