18 May 2005 : Column 1WS
Written Ministerial Statements
Wednesday 18 May 2005
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
"Making a difference: taking forward our priorities"
The Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Harriet Harman): On 11 May I published "Making a difference: taking forward our priorities". Copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
It is also available on the Department for Constitutional Affairs website at http://www.dca.gov.uk/dept/priorities2005.htm
DEFENCE
Defence Bills Agency (Key Targets)
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Adam Ingram): Key targets have been set for the chief executive of the Defence Bills Agency (DBA) for the financial year 2005–06. The targets, which build on the already high standards of service provided by the agency since its formation in 1996, are as follows:
1. To pay 99.9 per cent. of correctly presented bills within 11 calendar days of receipt as part of the Department's 30-day payment target.
2. To raise 99 per cent. of invoices accurately within four days of receipt of a valid order initiation.
3. To ensure that the average percentage of overdue collectable debt due to the Department does not exceed 26 per cent. of total collectable debt.
4. To deliver 99 per cent. of the required accounting and financial information feed to the departmental financial management system portal within one working day.
5. To make a progressive improvement of at least 1 per cent. in the overall level of customer satisfaction over a baseline of 80 per cent. achieved in 2004–05.
6. To make a progressive reduction in the unit costs for bills of at least 3 per cent. by March 2006, over the 2004–05 baseline.
ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Rural Payments Agency
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Margaret Beckett): I have set the Rural Payments Agency the following performance targets for 2005–06.
To commence payments under the single payment (SPS by February 2006 and to process and pay 96 per cent. of valid SPS claims by value by 31 March 2006.
To process and pay at least 90 per cent. of valid claims by volume under Pillar 1 schemes other than SPS/IACS within ministerial guidelines and 99 per cent. within the set EU Commission deadlines or in their absence 60 days.
To record 98 per cent. of valid and complete notifications of births, deaths and movements of cattle on CTS within 14 days of their receipt.
To re-baseline customer satisfaction to take account of the new customer base under SPS and to build on that with improvements in future years.
To implement the SPS communications strategy and achieve success criteria engaging with customers via roadshows and publications.
To ensure that disallowance within the control of RPA due to non-compliance with EU requirements remains below 2 per cent. of the value of CAP payments made by the agency.
To operate within 3 per cent. of the forecast for total expenditure (DEL and AME combined) supplied at the time of the Defra third quarter review.
To issue SPS claim forms to all known potential claimants and enter the data received back on to the database.
To complete the agreed inspection programme for CAP schemes in accordance with EU regulatory requirements, taking into account any approved derogations.
To provide accurate and timely operational advice in support of policy development and Defra business systems.
To implement a managed transition to the new organisational design whilst maintaining business continuity and ensuring that RPA retains sufficient people with appropriate skills to be able to process claims under SPS.
To ensure that relevant staff receive adequate training to process SPS claims effectively by delivering a planned training programme.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Youth Justice Agency of Northern Ireland
The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr. David Hanson): I have placed copies of the Youth Justice Agency's corporate plan for 2005–08 and business plan for 2005–06 in the Libraries of both Houses.
The business plan contains 10 key performance targets I have set for the service for 2005–06. These are:
1. All young people sentenced or remanded to the Juvenile Justice Centre for more than one week will have an educational assessment and individual learning plan.
2. Some 90 per cent. of all young people sentenced to custody will commence an approved scheme of tackling offending programme during the custodial element of their sentence.
5. Over the year no more than 2 per cent. of the total new referral/admissions to the agency should be non-accidentally injured.
6. Over the year no more than 2 per cent. of the total members of staff should be non-accidentally injured while engaged in the work of the agency.
8. Deliver at least 75 per cent. of the planned training days specified in the corporate training priorities plan for 2005–06.