§ Mr. McMasterTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the planned operational opening date of the new Benefits Agency office in Paisley; how many staff will be deployed to this office; how many new(a) full-time and (b) part-time jobs will be created; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BurtThe opening of a new Benefits Agency office in Paisley is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Gordon McMaster, dated 8 February 1994:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking about the new Benefits Agency office in Paisley.The planned operational opening date of the new office is Spring 1995. At this stage I cannot give a more specific date as work on the site commenced in November 1993 and we have assumed approximately 18 months for a new building from start to finish.As the 1995/96 resource allocations are not yet known it is not possible to be precise about the number of staff in the new office. However, on current projections, the new office is expected to house around 245 staff in total—around 220 Benefits Agency staff (including Sector Fraud), around 15 Contributions Agency staff and around 10 Child Support Agency staff.It is not anticipated that any new jobs, either full time or part time, will be created in Benefits Agency, Contributions Agency or Child Support Agency. This is a move of an existing organisation from a very poor and inadequate building to a new custom built premises to provide improved quality services for customers and staff alike.The Renfrew District Manager, Colin Wright, will be happy to provide you with any further progress reports should you require them.I am sorry that I cannot be more precise with the information I have provided at this stage, but I hope you find my reply helpful.