§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the number of supplementary benefit offices; and if he will, in the manner of his answer to the hon. Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory),Official Report, 4 November, columns 774–81, show the offices whose allocation under the social fund will be less than is paid out in the current year on single payments, and by how much.
§ Mr. ScottThere are 453 supplementary benefit offices. As these offices do not receive allocations for single payment expenditure it will not be possible to compare the social fund budgets for 1988–89 with their single payment expenditure for 1987–88 until provisional outturn figures for the latter year are available on an office by office basis. Such figures are likely to be available in July 1988.