To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what areas of work were affected, or not covered at all, as a result of the recent industrial action in (a) Wallasey, (b) Stockton, (c) Redcar, (d) Doncaster, (e) Hull, (f) Leicester, Yeoman Street, (g) Tottenham, (h) Ilford, (i) Bloomsbury, (j) Kensington and (k) Camberwell local offices.

As can only be expected when industrial action has been taken, all areas of work were affected to some degree in the local offices mentioned and local management had to prioritise work accordingly. The prompt payment of benefits remained the top priority for all these offices. Every effort was made by management and staff to ensure that their offices remained open to the public and to provide a telephone service (although this was necessarily limited in some cases).