HC Deb 25 October 1988 vol 139 cc153-5W
Mr. Sean Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the latest figures available for his Department in the London pay area of the number of vacancies by grade and the proportion this is of the grade complement in London.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

The number of vacancies by grade, and the proportion this is of the grade complement, is set out in the table for local and regional offices in the social security regional organisation. The figures give the overall position as at 1 October 1988. Individual offices are provided with a manpower budget and flexibilities in operating this budget mean that there can be surpluses in other grades and management may not be seeking to fill all these vacancies.

SEO HEO EO Typist Security guard
Number of vacancies 4 22.5 42 14.5 6
Proportion of complement (Per cent.) 5.9 8.9 1.5 7.2 5.3

The headquarters organisation of the Department controls manpower by running costs budgets. The following table gives the number of staff headquarters

divisions are seeking to recruit externally and the proportion this is of the staff in post and recruitment vacancies for that grade. The figures give the position as at 1 October 1988 and, because the process of splitting the Department of Health and Social Security is not yet complete, are an estimate of those staff who will form the headquarters of the Department of Social Security.

Number of vacancies Proportion of staff-in-post/vacancies (per cent.)
Principal 2 1.8
EO 8 2.8
AO 12 4.6
AA 10 9.9
PES 15 18.3
Typist 4 3.8
Economic Adviser 2 50
Legal Officer 2 15
Senior Research Officer 1 50
Information Officer 3 23
Assistant Statistician 2 50
Senior Scientific Officer (OR) 2 33

Mr. Sean Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide the latest available figures for his Department for(a) numbers of staff in receipt of local pay additions, by grade, (b) location of those offices awarding local pay additions and (c) annual cost.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

We do not yet have accurate statistics for the Department of Social Security alone, following the split of the Department of Health and Social Security on 25 July. The information given is for the Department's local offices. Information for DHSS Headquarters which covers staff in the Department of Social Security and the Department of Health are being provided today in reply to the hon. Member's similar question to the Secretary of State for Health.

(a) Numbers of staff in receipt of local pay additions by grade as at 1 July 1988 (DSS local offices)
Grade Number of staff in receipt
Administrative Assistant 46
Administrative Officer 279
Personal Secretary 9
Local Officer I 2,642
Local Officer II 3,666
Executive Officer 243
Typing Manager 8
Higher Executive Officer 592
Others 8

(b) Location of DSS offices awarding local pay additions
Acton Leytonstone
Balham Mitcham
Barking Neasden
Battersea Notting Hill
Bloomsbury Oval
Bracknell Paddington
Brixton Peckham
Camberwell Plaistow
Canning Town Poplar
Chelsea Reading
City Richmond
Cricklewood Shoreditch
Croydon Slough
Crystal Palace Southall
Ealing Southwark
Edgware Stepney
Edmonton Stoke Newington
Eltham Streatham
Epsom Surbiton
Euston Sutton
Finsbury Park Thames North
Grays Thames South
Greenwich Park Tottenham
Guildford Walthamstow
Hackney Wandsworth
Harlesden Westminster
Harrow Wimbledon
Hendon Woking
Highgate Woodgrange Park
Hither Green Wood Green
Hoxton Woolwich
Ilford OPSSAT
Kennington Park London North Regional
Kensington Office
Kingston upon Thames London South Regional
Lewisham Office

(c) The scheme has not been operating long enough for accurate annual cost projections to be made. The cost for the first month, July, was £294,534.

Mr. Leighton

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the complement of staff at his Department's Stanmore office.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

The Department does not have a Stanmore office. The area is covered by the office at Harrow. Its present complement is 142.

Back to