§ Mr. BurdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many(a) casual staff, (b) temporary staff and (c) permanent staff she plans to shed from jobcentres; and if she will list the locations of the jobcentres affected.
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§ Mr. McLoughlin[holding answer 22 February 1993]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. Richard Burden, dated 23 February 1993:
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question to her about the adjustment of staffing levels in Job Centres. This is something which falls within responsibilities she has delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.I must point out that the level of our workforce regularly fluctuates during the year to reflect local circumstances and seasonal trends in unemployment. Casual and temporary employees are always told that their appointments may be terminated at short notice, according to the local needs of the Employment Service.We have no plans to cut the overall annual number of people employed to provide our services. Indeed, next year will see an increase in the number of people employed to provide our customers with a range of services to help them return to work. In 1993–94, we are funding our regions to employ some 47,800 people compared with some 44,500 at the start of 1992–93. This illustrates our firm commitment to meeting our clients needs.I hope this is helpful.As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, the Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.