asked the Minister of Transport in which specific offices the reduction of 1,000 Civil Service posts will take place following the takeover by the Post Office of an increased portion of vehicle excise work.

The savings of over 1,000 Civil Service posts resulting from the transfer of vehicle relicensing work to post offices will affect all my Department's local vehicle licensing offices in Great Britain. About 30 of them will be closed in the next two years and there will be staff reductions in the 50 or so that will remain. I shall be announcing my decisions on the individual offices shortly.