§ Ms. ShortTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide details of the sample survey of delays in adjudication officers making decisions on availability for work, showing the number and proportion of cases involved, by regions, for each quarter since October 1987.
§ Mr. LeeThe following tables show the number of submissions on availability for work included in the sample survey in each of the regions covering the period January 1988 to March 1989, and the observed percentages on those cases in which a decision had been reached in less than four weeks.
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Table 2 Percentage of availability for work cases cleared in under 4 weeks Region Period ending March 1988 Period ending June 1988 Period ending September 1988 Period ending December 1988 Period ending March 1989 percentage percentage percentage percentage percentage Northern 97 100 96 100 98 Yorkshire and Humberside 97 97 94 86 91 East Midlands 91 96 91 91 88 Eastern 86 81 84 68 69 Southern 81 71 73 82 84 Western 87 78 72 85 70 South West 87 85 80 80 71 Wales 84 97 91 89 91 West Midlands 85 79 77 89 95 North West 93 86 92 89 88 Scotland 92 91 85 83 86 Records are no longer retained for periods prior to January 1988. However, I refer the hon. Member to the replies that I gave her on 25 March 1988 at column 259 and 12 April 1988 at column 38.