§ 18. Mr. HuttonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will make a statement on the Government's plans for improving services to benefit claimants. [4353]
§ Mr. FieldWe are reviewing how we deliver benefits to customers. In any such review, the views of customers will be crucial.
§ Mr. HuttonDoes my right hon. Friend agree that one way of improving services to benefit claimants would be to ensure access to good quality advice and information? What role would that play in the review of social security that his Department is undertaking?
§ Mr. FieldThe review that we are undertaking will obviously include my hon. Friend's points. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary, the Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham), said earlier how we are seeking to find out why so many older pensioners do not claim the help to which they are entitled. As well as conducting national surveys, we are interested in what is happening at grass roots level. I have followed closely what my hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Hutton) has pioneered in his constituency. We are anxious to learn those lessons and feed them into our review.