preposition choice: at/in hand

Question

I'm wondering which preposition to use in the following. If both are acceptable, what is the difference?

Our officers have to concentrate 100 per cent on the task at/in hand.

Peter turned his attention to the task at/in hand.

Answer 1

At hand = nearby

In hand = being worked on at present

'The task at hand' would be a job that presented itself as obviously the next thing that needed doing. So it depends whether they are already working on the tasks or not.