EFFICIENCY SAVINGS
109. The DWP memorandum set out the changes it has
been making to its business processes in the context of the efficiency
savings programme:
"The Pensions Transformation Programme has fundamentally
changed the claims process for State Pension and State Pension
Credit. Applications for State Pension and State Pension Credit
are much quicker and more straightforward, and as they can be
made over the telephone, there is no need to sign a form; and
for straightforward applications, customers are given their provisional
State Pension and State Pension Credit entitlement at the end
of the call
In addition, The Pension Service now has an
integrated claims process for State Pension Credit, State Pension
and Housing and Council Tax Benefit.[146]
"In September 2004 [Jobcentre Plus] benefit
processing took place in approximately 650 sites. Since then the
number of sites processing claims has reduced steadily as part
of the rationalisation of our overall business and estate. By
March 2008, benefit processing activities will have been centralised
into 77 sites. The latest position is that over half the Benefit
Delivery Centres [BDCs] will have gone-live by the end of April
2007. Jobcentre Plus business processes have been simplified
with a single 0800 number to claim Jobseeker's Allowance, Incapacity
Benefit or Income Support. Customers will be able to make their
benefit claim in a single telephone call rather than in two calls
previously.[147]
"Disability and Carers Service continues to
meet all of its benefit targets; there is a greater consistency
in decision making, fewer cases are going to appeal and fewer
are being overturned. It is investing in its staff through the
Professionalism in Decision Making and Appeals programme. This
programme of learning and development for decision makers is enhancing
skills with the result being accreditation for decision makers
by an external academic body. This is a trailblazing project within
government and is attracting interest across Whitehall."[148]
110. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS)
stated that it "welcomes any new policy that will improve
the service that our members are able to provide for benefit claimants.
Simplifying the benefit system should be one such policy. However,
we are concerned that the motive behind this initiative may be
finding financial savings in both benefit expenditure and administration,
rather than improving the benefits system for citizens."[149]
111. It suggested that the DWP's approach to simplification
had had negative consequences in terms of the delivery of accessible
customer services, particularly in rural areas, again linking
this clearly to the efficiency agenda:
"The consequences of this drive to reduce staff,
estate and costs in DWP are affecting DWP customers too. The closure
of rural Jobcentres may make for a simpler and cheaper system
but it ignores the extra cost for the customer forced to travel
further to sign on and meet their advisers." [150]
112. Concerns about the efficiency savings programme
were also raised by the Child Poverty Action Group.[151]
113. When we questioned the Minister about whether
the efficiency programme had affected error rates he said that
he did "not accept the premise of what has been put to you
and I do not think the evidence bears it out either."[152]
114. As part of our wider scrutiny work we examine
the performance of DWP and its Agencies, for example we have produced
reports on The Efficiency Savings Programme in Jobcentre Plus[153]
and the Social Fund[154]
(which included consideration of the new Jobcentre Plus Standard
Operating Model). We took evidence from the Chief Executive of
the Pension Service in June[155]
and will be taking evidence from the Secretary of State for Work
and Pensions on the Departmental Annual Report in July. We do
not, therefore, intend to go into these issues separately here,
apart from one general point, which is that we agree with Fran
Bennett's comment:
"one thing we have not perhaps focused enough
on in that area of incremental changes is just bad administration.
In fact that sometimes it is not so much complexity as actually
bad administration and mistakes in administration."
[156]
115. We heard from a number of claimants that they
were finding it difficult to contact the new Jobcentre Plus Benefit
Delivery Centres, as described by Sue Royston:
"I saw a client. We had identified that she
had not got a Sure Start maternity grant, and you only have three
months after the birth to get the application in and she was only
left with 10 days. She completed the form for the health visitor,
she sent it into the Jobcentre, the Jobcentre then sent it off.
She contacted the Jobcentre, the Jobcentre could not trace it
and could not get in touch with, they had no way of getting through
to, the Social Fund. They must have had a phone line, but they
could not get through. In the end, I contacted them. They got
in touch with somebody else in a different office. They tried
to get through, could not get through and when they did couldn't
locate the form. The advice in the end from Jobcentre Plus was
for her to complete a new form in case it had got lost. So she
had to go back to the health visitor and get it signed all over
again, she had to complete the whole form again. Jobcentre Plus
gave me a fax number and advised 'Fax it off and ask them to e-mail
you back and tell you that they have received it.' Again, they
did not. Eventually, the client just rang me and said, 'Well,
it has come', but it seemed that nobody within the system could
talk to the Social Fund either. It was not just that the claimant
could not; it was not just that we could not; they did not seem
to be able to talk them either." [157]
116. And Gary Vaux from the Hertfordshire County
Council Money Advice Unit:
"Client, on income-based JSA, looking for work
when his elderly mother's health deteriorated to the extent that
he had full time caring responsibilities. He was advised to claim
Income Support and Carers Allowance via the Jobcentre Plus contact
centre. Once he did this, his JSA immediately stopped. Client
was left without money for two months due to backlog at processing
centre and was extremely frustrated due to difficulties trying
to get through to the Benefit Delivery Centre (BDC) to find out
what had gone wrong. Situation only finally resolved with assistance
from a welfare rights adviser with direct access to BDC and knowledge
of the need to liaise between three benefit departments."[158]
117. Brendan O'Gorman conceded that there had been
some "teething problems" with the new BDCs but added:
"Jobcentre Plus is aware that we need to do
better in terms of allowing people to get in touch with the folk
who are actually taking decisions on their benefit, and that is
an aspect which is being looked at and will be improved."
[159]
118. As
part of this inquiry we met a series of claimants and even Jobcentre
Plus staff who found it impossible to get through to the new Jobcentre
Plus Benefit Delivery Centres. Unlike calls to Contact Centres
these calls are charged at 0845 rates and are not free. Coupled
with delays in the system, this has resulted in hardship and distress
for many vulnerable people. DWP should take action to resolve
these problems immediately.
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