§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the information he has regarding problems in the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FreemanThe Office of Population Censuses and Surveys is responsible for recruiting staff below the executive officer (and equivalent) grades. No major recruitment problems are currently being encountered at its Titchfield and Southport locations but, in common with other Departments, there are difficulties in recruiting and retaining administrative officers, personal secretaries and administrative assistants at its London headquarters.
§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether interviewers employed by the Office of the Population Censuses and Surveys are termed employees of the Crown; and to what pension rights they are entitled to under existing legislation.
§ Mr. FreemanInterviewers employed by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys are employees of the Crown. Under existing social security legislation, interviewers have a choice between contributing to SERPS (provided that their earnings are sufficient) or to a personal pension.
§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many men and women are employed as interviewers by the Office of the Population Censuses and Surveys on(a) a full-time and (b) a part-time basis.
§ Mr. FreemanInterviewing work carried out by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys fluctuates with the demand for surveys and with the requirements of individual surveys. As a result the number of interviewers employed by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys is variable. At present, 476 hourly-paid interviewers are employed, of whom 52 are male and 424 are female.
Interviewers are not guaranteed any fixed amount of work and are paid on an hourly fee basis for work undertaken. The nature of the work means that all interviewers are employed on a part-time basis.
§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list(a) the number of unfilled vacancies at the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys as a percentage of total employees and by job category and (b) the average length of time taken to fill a vacancy by job category at the office.
§ Mr. Freeman(a) The information is in the table. The numbers of unfilled vacancies are the difference between staff in post and the staff profile, as at 1 March 1989, the latest date for which information is available. Casual staff are excluded.
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Job category Vacancies Percentage of employees Percentage of profile Grade 7 and above (+4.0) (+4.7) (+4.9) Senior executive officer— executive officer and equivalents 33.0 5.6 5.3 Administrative officers and assistants 39.5 3.4 3.3 Other staff 34.5 15.4 13.4 Total 103.0 5.0 4.8 (b) Due to the different recruitment methods and wide variation between categories, this information is not collected and could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
§ Mrs. Margaret EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list(a) the Civil Service pay rates applicable to interviewers employed by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and (b) the starting times for shift work when applicable.
§ Mr. FreemanInterviewers employed by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys are paid one of seven rates ranging at present from £3.69 to £5.38 per hour plus expenses. In addition, higher rates are paid for unsocial hours and to interviewers based in the London area.
Interviewers' pay is linked to the pay spine agreed between HM Treasury and the Institution of Professional Civil Servants. This link is solely a means of determining pay movement.
A minority of interviewers work on projects with fixed starting and finishing times. With the exception of a small group of interviewers whose starting time is normally 4.15 pm on weekdays and 9.30 am on Saturdays, starting times vary by location and to take account of the requirements of particular surveys.