A day in the life of staff at the offices of the Department of Social Security offices based at High Heaton, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Benton Park View in High Heaton, known locally as 'The Ministry', is one of the largest secure civilian government complexes in Europe. Created in the late 1940s as part of the burgeoning welfare state, its original purpose was as the administrative centre for the Ministry of Pensions as well as for National Insurance. As the site's importance grew so did its size not only with the construction of new office buildings but also its own bank, Post Office, pub, and gentlemen's hairdressers, as well as a large canteen known as The Amble which by the 1970s was catering for approximately 10,000 members of staff. In 1968 the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance became the Department of Social Security (DHSS) and remained so until 1988, when this film was made. Although seeing a decline throughout the 1980s and '90s, today it still houses both the Department of Works & Pensions (DWP) as well as Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Sadly, in June 2021 the UK government announced that it will be leaving Benton Park View in favour of a new administrate facility in the centre of Newcastle, a gloomy end to what was once one of the largest employers in the region.

"Forty-eight hours is just a moment in time in the social history of a nation. However, over 26 and 27 August 1988, the people of the North East England have produced a significant record of their lives, their time and their country." These are the words of HRH Prince Charles in his introduction to the book '48hrs: Two Days in the Life of the North East', published by BBC Books and containing hundreds of original and unique photographs taken by people across the region that, according to David Cox, producer of 48hrs, "Create a true reflection of how people feel about their area and their lives' at a specific moment in time."

'48hrs: Two Days in the Life of the North East' began as a collaborative project between the BBC in Newcastle, local production company Filmnova and the Tyne & Wear Development Corporation. The BBC were able to promote the project and along with Filmnova provided curatorial assistance in witling down the thousands of submissions to those that would eventually make up the book. The Tyne and Wear Development Corporation provided financial support with the books publishing.

While the book went onto become a success, what is less know is that twenty film submissions in the form of video tapes were also submitted by for consideration. Sadly, none of these films made it into the final publication and for the next thirty they sat on the shelves of Filmnova until being donated to the Yorkshire & North East Film Archives in the early 2010s. Now, thanks to the support of BFI Heritage 2022 these tapes have been digitised and made available here for you to view and look back on the people of the North-East of England over a summer Bank Holiday more than thirty years ago.