§ Mr. Harry GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many jobs have been created outside London by his Department over the last two years.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe Department has taken a number of positive steps to move work away from London. For example, we are transferring benefits processing work away from 21 London offices to new social security centres in Glasgow, Belfast and Makerfield employing some 1,400 staff.
In addition, new agencies such as the Information and Technology Services Agency are based primarily away from London, and the new Benefits Agency headquarters will be moving to Leeds from June 1992 with the transfer of nearly 500 London-based posts.