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30 Mar 2006 : Column 1193W—continued
Call Centres
Mr. Laws:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2005, Official Report, column 1006W, on call centres, if he will break down the figures by each individual benefit or
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function, including (a) the Child Support Agency, (b) the Pensions Agency and (c) disability living allowance/attendance allowance; and if he will make a statement. [35726]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 12 December 2006]: The information requested is in the following table:
(21) Jobcentre Plus had 91 sites taking Jobseeker Direct calls including a large number of small teams within Jobcentres.
(22) In 2004–05 Jobcentre Plus started off with 53 sites and were down to 39 sites by the end of the year.
(23) In 2005–06 Jobcentre Plus started of with 39 sites and are now down to 31 sites (this includes three Employer Direct sites who are taking Jobseeker Direct calls).
(24) The network figure for calls receiving the engaged tone 2003–04 is not calculated in the same format as the other two periods due to the relevant data not being available.
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Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) average speed of response to calls and (b) proportion of failed calls was for each public call centre operated by or on behalf of his Department in the most recent period for which figures are available; and what the staff turnover was in each call centre in the same period. [51717]
Mrs. McGuire: The information that is available is shown in the table. All data relates to November 2005.
Jobcentre Plus Direct, the National Benefit Fraud Hotline and the Pension Service do not collate information on the average speed of answering calls. The data provided for these helplines (x per cent. of calls answered in y seconds) is the closest comparable indicator.
Failed calls are those that are not presented to the contact centre due to technical reasons, such as insufficient line capacity.
n/a = Not available.
(25) Included in Retirement Pensions Teleclaims figures, a separate figure is not available.
(26) These helplines are provided by an external contractor and are not staffed by DWP employees.
(27) This represents the percentage of whole-time equivalent staff who left the Pension Service by resignation or termination only.
(28) Information is not available separately for first contact and jobseeker direct, therefore a total figure has been provided for Jobcentre Plus Direct.
(29) We do not have any information on staff turnover for NBFH, however we are taking steps to ensure this data is available in the future.
Child Support Agency
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his oral evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee on 15 February 2006, if he will list the identified IT defects in the Child Support Agency computer system; and when he expects each to be resolved. [54454]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 30 March 2006:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his oral evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee on 15th February 2006 if he will list the identified IT defects in the Child Support Agency computer system; and when he expects each to be resolved.
The timetable for resolution of these defects is part of the negotiated settlement with our supplier and we expect them to be resolved by the end of 2007.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received on the impact on child poverty of the failure to collect maintenance payments through the Child Support Agency (CSA); and what immediate plans he has to improve CSA collection mechanisms. [60920]
Mr. Plaskitt: The failure of non-resident parents to face up to their responsibilities and pay maintenance causes real hardship for their children. The Child Support Agency (CSA) does have powers to enforce payment of maintenance but this is an area where the Agency has not been sufficiently effective. The issue of enforcement appears regularly in correspondence we receive from parents and their representatives. Enforcement will be considered by Sir David Henshaw as part of his work to redesign the child support system.
In the shorter term we have announced plans to improve collection of maintenance in the agency's operational improvement plan. The agency will be using deduction from earnings orders earlier and more frequently for those who either default on other payment arrangements or indicate that they are unlikely to pay. The agency will more actively manage higher risk cases to ensure payments are made and make more use of information held by HMRC and credit reference agencies to track down those who owe money for their children.
The CSA will employ external debt collection agencies to recover outstanding debt and use their best practice to improve its own collection activity. Over 600 more staff will be trained and effective within the next year and staffing dedicated to enforcement activity quadrupled over the period of the plan. For those parents who continue to avoid paying maintenance we will significantly increase the number brought before the courts, securing debt through liability orders and seizing
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of assets where appropriate. We will also work with the media and stakeholders to develop a campaign to make clear that failing to pay maintenance has real and lasting consequences for children.
The cumulative effect of all of these measures will lead to more maintenance being paid and more children lifted out of poverty.
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