3 Making information available to
the public
18. Customers can obtain leaflets from Departmental
offices, although the number of sites —currently around
1,000—has reduced since 2001 when the Department was created
and the majority cater for customers of working age.[37]
The Department relies on individual offices to identify and order
the leaflets that they make available to customers locally, described
as a 'pull approach'. This approach has led to some problems with
availability, both in departmental and non-departmental offices
(Figure 2). For example, copies of the four core departmental
leaflets required were only available at 11% of the external sites
visited by the National Audit Office where it was specifically
sought.[38]
Figure 2: Availability of core leaflets in locations
visited by the National Audit Office
19. The private sector tends to rely more on a "push"
approach to send material out to branches from a central point,
with clear directions on what should be made available and when.
The Department is moving closer to this approach. When new products
are issued, local offices will be sent copies, told what to do
with old material (including whether it must be destroyed or can
be used to exhaustion), and with some indication of the importance
of the product. The Department is unlikely to move to a push approach
completely, however, as it needs to retain flexibility to respond
to locally identified demand. The planned single print and distribution
system, due to be let in Autumn 2006, will hold details of use
by each office and will enable the Department to make more intelligent
use of a push approach. [39]
20. Where leaflets are not readily available, customers
rely on local staff to provide the information they require. However,
they are often unable to assist customers, sometimes redirecting
them to places that do not stock leaflets or incorrectly advising
them that the leaflets are no longer available. Better customer
service more generally would go a long way towards helping customers
obtain and understand information on entitlements at local offices,
and staff need good quality guidance and training so they are
able to respond to requests for information. A range of improvements
have now been put in place to help meet the needs of customers.[40]
Regular reviews and mystery shopping exercises are to be carried
out at least every six months to test the availability of leaflets
at local offices. The Department hopes these improvements will
minimise the occasions when it fails its customers, although accepts
that failures to meet customer needs will still happen at times.[41]
21. A number of steps have been taken to improve
local offices' ability to obtain leaflets. All Jobcentre Plus
offices have now been provided with clear instructions on what
information they are required to stock and how to maintain it.
Information for pensioners and disabled people has been difficult
to obtain from Jobcentre Plus offices, which have now been instructed
to carry 92 specific leaflets on a range of subjects for different
customer groups, including basic pension information.[42]
A complete list of all the Department's leaflets is now available
to staff, and where copies of leaflets cannot be downloaded from
the internet there is now a single telephone number from which
copies can be obtained.
22. Until April 2004, many of the Department's leaflets
were available at Post Offices. This arrangement has expired but
the Department has not found a suitable alternative.[43]
Although the Department has increased
the variety of subjects covered by leaflets at its network of
around 800 Jobcentre Plus offices, there remains a gap in the
coverage and availability of leaflets beyond Departmental sites.
It is now arranging with Citizens Advice
to provide access to all its leaflets, but given the number of
out of date leaflets the Department has in its own offices, and
the lack of control the Department has over external sites, keeping
stocks of leaflets at these sites remain up to date will be a
challenge. [44]
23. It is important that the stock of leaflets is
up to date wherever they are made available to the public and
that these are checked rigorously and continuously. Around 40%
of the 27 different leaflets that the National Audit Office collected
were out of date, in some cases by several years.[45]
Analysis to determine whether any relationship existed between
those areas worst served by the Department and offices in the
poorest areas[46]
using the Index of Multiple Deprivation established
no significant link.[47]
The Department does not expect that the leaflets
it stocks will ever be 100% up to date and does not have such
a target, considering that to set one of less than 100% would
suggest that it was acceptable for some leaflets to be out of
date. [48]
24. Direct action by The Pension Service Chief Executive
to tackle the problem of out of date leaflets in The Pension Service
reduced the percentage stocked at Pension Centres from 60% to
10%. Such positive results should not depend on the intervention
of such a senior official, although the Department suggested that
at times it was right for senior staff to give impetus to tackling
a particular problem. The new role of Head of Customer Information
will provide the link between policy teams and print and distribution
teams to make sure that the work undertaken in one area triggers
appropriate action in another area. [49]
25. Increasingly, the Department's customers use
the internet to obtain information. Amongst pensioners, for example,
there has been more use electronic forms of contact than the Department
expected,[50] though
it accepts the internet will never be suitable for all customers.
It is currently considering whether leaflets aimed at those customers
more likely to use the internet (for example, advisors accessing
technical guides) need to be printed at all, but is unlikely to
move away completely from printed leaflets.[51]
For those customers who can and want to access services on-line,
almost all of the Department's leaflets are now available electronically.
Staff can also access and print them at local offices and though
the Department does not wish to burden busy front line staff printing
leaflets, more use will be made of these facilities to meet demand
for one off, low demand leaflets.[52]
Jobcentre Plus has touch-screen technology for customers to access
and print job vacancy information at local offices, but they are
unable to print leaflets from these points. The Department has
not ruled out this facility for the future and will continue to
monitor capacity locally as technology advances.[53]
37 C&AG's Report, para 3.2 Back
38
C&AG's Report, para 3.4 Back
39
Qq 72, 73 Back
40
Qq 41-44, 69-70, 88; C&AG's Report, Box 10 Back
41
Qq 56, 84-86 Back
42
Qq 36, 56 Back
43
C&AG's Report, para 3.24 Back
44
Qq 89, 90 Back
45
C&AG's Report, paras 3.9-3.13 Back
46
Qq 83-87 Back
47
Regression modelling was used to determine any link between out
of date leaflets and deprivation, based on visits to 100 Departmental
sites. For both 'core' and 'all' leaflets the relationship between
the Index of Multiple Deprivation and the proportion of leaflets
out of date was not significant. Back
48
Qq 77, 87 Back
49
Q 47, 54 Back
50
Q 76, 81-82 Back
51
Qq 51-53, 69, 70, 74, 75 Back
52
Qq 78, 81, 82 Back
53
Qq 79, 80 Back
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