§ Mr. CranTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress is being made in his Department's review, in line with Treasury guidelines, of the potential for the further relocation of Civil Service posts outside London and the south-east; and when he expects the review to be completed.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardWe are making excellent progress in relocating "backroom" work from 21 local social security offices in London to the three social security centres in Glasgow, Belfast and Makerfield.
The first social security centre at Glasgow is due to start work on 14 August.
As a separate exercise, a team of officials is close to completing a thorough and systematic review of the location of our headquarters work. We expect to receive a report of the team's findings shortly.