§ Mr. McLoughlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will announce the result of his review of the future location of the work of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys.
§ Mr. FreemanYes. The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) has three main sites in London, Titchfield and Southport where there are about 660, 840 and 600 staff respectively. The number of staff at the Southport site is expected to fall by about 250 during 1991 as a result of the computerisation of the NHS central register.
I have concluded that most of the division which oversees the registration of births, marriages and deaths, now based largely in London, should move to Southport. It is having great difficulty in recruiting and retaining administrative staff in London, and the effectiveness and efficiency of its operation is being jeopardised. about 170 posts from London and about 80 posts from Titchfield will move to Southport. Some other services at present based in London, mainly in central support areas, will move to Titchfield when accommodation becomes available there. The moves will be co-ordinated with the planned run-down of other Southport work and will probably be completed by mid 1992.
Both the public search room and the OPCS library, which are used regularly by the public, will remain in London. The professional statistical work of OPCS, covering population and medical statistics, the census and social surveys, will also remain in London because of the importance of day to day links with customers in Government Departments, which have been strengthened in accordance with the machinery of Government review in 1986.