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Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if she will make a statement on the legislation relating to late claims for benefit; [2236]
Mr. Bradley: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 2 July, Official Report, columns 207-209.
Mr. Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the number of claimants for each benefit in the Motherwell and Wishaw Benefits Agency district in the most recent year for which figures are available. [5014]
Mr. Field:
One of our key aims is to improve the service provided to claimants and other customers. Particular queries on Benefits Agency operational matters are the responsibility of Peter Mathison, its Chief Executive. I have asked him to write directly and for his reply to be published with the answer.
3 Jul 1997 : Column: 281
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Frank Roy, dated 2 July 1997:
Figures are provisional and subject to change.
(4) Figures are from the introduction of the benefit--October 1996 to March 1997.
(5) Figures are estimates based on 5 per cent. data sample of successful claims and are rounded to the nearest hundred. The figures relate to a "snap shot" of customers receiving benefit at 28 February 1997. Details of unsuccessful claims are not available.
(6) Figures are only available as cumulative for successful claims for the period 1992 to date. The figures are for Motherwell and Wishaw benefit offices.
(7) Figures are for Motherwell and Wishaw benefit offices. The figures show the number of families in receipt of Family Credit at 27 March 1997.
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking about the number of claimants for each benefit in the Motherwell and Wishaw Benefits Agency District in the most recent year for which figures are available.
Motherwell and Wishaw benefit offices are part of the Benefits Agency Clyde Valley District which also includes offices at Hamilton, Lanark and Shotts. The information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is shown in the attached Annex.
Information for Child Benefit, Child Benefit (Lone Parent), Guardians Allowance and Invalid Care Allowance is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
Benefit Number of customers
Incapacity Benefit 9,878
Maternity Benefit 273
Severe Disablement Benefit 697
Retirement Pension 4,317
Widow's Payment 317
Widow's Benefit 232
Income Support 13,364
Job Seekers Allowance(4) 7,441
Disability Living Allowance(5) 5,200
Attendance Allowance(5) 2,400
Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit 503
Disability Working Allowance(6) 32
Family Credit(7) 1,562
Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidance is issued to the Child Support Agency in cases where parentage is contested and the courts have not ruled on such a dispute. [5058]
Mr. Keith Bradley: We believe that children are entitled to the support of both parents wherever they live. It is important that the Child Support Agency effectively and efficiently establishes paternity where this is in dispute.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 2 July 1997:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency procedures concerning disputed paternity.
3 Jul 1997 : Column: 282
Mr. Bradley:
We expect the Child Support Agency to provide an efficient and effective service to all its clients throughout the child support assessment process. We are looking for substantial and sustained operational improvements from the Agency, in particular on getting more maintenance paid, reducing the backlog and improving customer service.
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mrs. Faith Boardman to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 2 July 1997:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about targets for answering enquiries to the Child Support Agency.
3 Jul 1997 : Column: 283
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in what circumstances Benefits Agency staff are required to ask for faxed authority from a citizens advice bureau adviser before discussing a specific client's case; and what plans her Department has to review the procedures to reduce the time required of citizens advice bureau advisers. [5722]
Mr. Field:
One of our key aims is to improve the service provided to claimants and other customers as well as to protect the confidentiality of customers. Questions on Benefits Agency operational matters are the responsibility of Peter Mathison, its Chief Executive. I have asked him to write directly to the hon. Member and for his reply to be published with the answer.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Paul Burstow, dated 2 July 1997:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question in what circumstances Benefits Agency staff are required to ask for faxed authority from a Citizens' Advice Bureau adviser before discussing a specific client's case; and what plans her Department has to review the procedures to reduce the time required of Citizens' Advice Bureau advisers.
3 Jul 1997 : Column: 284
Mr. Hinchliffe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what efficiency targets she has set for the Child Support Agency to respond to inquiries from parents (i) with and (ii) without care and their representatives.[5059]
The guidance followed by Child Support Officers in cases where paternity is disputed is contained in the Child Support Agency Paternity Guide (which will shortly be available in the Library of the House). Officers are first advised to interview the parent with care; this is necessary to establish certain facts and whether the parent with care is willing to undergo DNA testing to resolve the dispute. Depending on the outcome, an interview with the alleged absent parent is arranged.
If the alleged absent parent continues to dispute paternity, it is then considered whether the case is suitable for court proceedings and whether the alleged absent parent should be offered a DNA test to be arranged through the Agency.
Once the issue of paternity has been satisfactorily resolved, then a maintenance assessment is completed as soon as possible.
I hope this is helpful.
The Agency Charter sets out the standards the Agency aims to achieve for answering the telephone, written enquiries and visits to local offices by customers and their representatives. I have listed below the targets and the Agency performance against each standard during 1996/97.
We aim to answer general telephone enquiries (through the Agency's National Enquiry line) within 20 seconds during normal working hours. Performance against this standard was 64%. Case specific enquiries are handled through the Agency's Client Helplines. The Agency has no target which covers this area, but it is clear that this is an area where the service offered by the Agency has not fully met its customers needs.
I am committed to improving this and plans are in place to improve the service. The Agency plans to employ staff to work a wider more flexible range of working patterns over six days a week. This will provide more opportunities for customers to contact the Agency and vice versa, and will enable the Agency to deliver a better standard of customer service through greater use of the telephone. The Agency has also recently initiated an Early Positive Customer Contact project which will increase the use of the telephone by Agency staff at an early stage in our dealings with customers. The aim is that much more of our business will be conducted over the telephone rather than by correspondence, giving customers more opportunity to raise any issues or concerns earlier than at present.
We aim to reply to letters within 10 working days of receiving them. If we cannot send a full reply within 10 days, we aim to send an initial reply within 10 days and confirmation of when we can send the full reply. Performance against this standard was 52 per cent.
We aim to see customers within 10 minutes of their appointment time. Performance against this standard was 100 per cent.
We aim to acknowledge complaints within two working days and aim to send a full reply within ten working days. Performance against this standard was 92 per cent. for acknowledgements and 62 per cent. for full replies.
Whilst some of the results against our Charter Standards are encouraging, I am very conscious that there are still far too many justified complaints about the standards of basic customer contact and the service we provide. Over the next few years, I am committed to bringing high quality levels of performance to every part of our operation as a matter of routine, thereby reducing the number of complaints received and enhancing the public perception of the Agency.
I hope this is helpful.
There are no national instructions in place within the Benefits Agency which require staff to request a faxed authority from Citizens' Advice Bureaux advisers before a customer's case can be discussed.
However, the Benefits Agency has a duty to ensure that confidential customer information is not disclosed improperly. In dealing with any enquiry from a customer's representative, Agency staff should confirm that both the enquiry and the person making it are genuine, and that the enquiry is being made on behalf of the customer. However, the method by which this is achieved is subject to local procedures, forming part of local liaison arrangements between the Benefits Agency and other welfare organisations.
I meet the Chief Executive of the National Association of Citizens' Advice Bureaux on a six monthly basis. Local managers are also encouraged to maintain regular liaison with local Citizens Advice Bureaux and the Agency has produced guidance for field staff entitled 'Building Effective Relationships with Citizens Advice Bureaux'. Using their established liaison channels, the Benefits Agency will keep under review the operation of the arrangements for the disclosure of information to Citizens Advice Bureaux.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
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