§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many applications for single payments were made in(a) Shetland and (b) Orkney in each financial year since 1984–85; and how many were refused.
§ Mr. PortilloThe Department's office at Lerwick is responsible exclusively for Shetland, but Wick office, which is responsible for Orkney, serves in addition part of the mainland. The numbers of single payment decisions made representing awards and refusals in the last four statistical years are given in the table.
1984–851 1985–86 1986–87 1987–882 Wick Awards 3,364 4,637 5,032 4,936 Refusals 467 956 1,771 1,951 Lerwick Awards 362 607 792 527 Refusals 59 130 303 234 1 The Department's statistical years run from April to April. 2 The figures for 1987–88 are provisional and subject to amendment.