§ Mr. Stevensasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement about staffing levels in his Department.
§ Mr. FowlerA reassessment of the staffing requirements for my Department for the year 1987–88 has now been made. As a result, the manpower ceiling for my Department as a whole will be increased by 4,050 posts to 102,900 for 1 April 1988. The major element within this reassessment has been a full review of the complement of social security local offices. It also takes account of savings that I expect to achieve during the year from a combination of work reductions and efficiency measures. This increase of 4,050 posts is additional to the increase of over 5,000 which I announced on 7 March 1986 at column322, and to the figures in the 1987 public expenditure White Paper.
Discussions with the trade union side are under way on the results of complement review and on measures which will reduce workload or improve efficiency as they arise from implementation. Recruitment of the extra staff will also start now and proceed quickly.
I should like to pay tribute to the efforts made by the staff and management of our offices, particularly those in inner cities, to maintain services to the public.