Service by Telephone (Hansard, 9 February 1994)

§ Mr. Burt

Measures to improve the standard of telephone service within the Benefits Agency are a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the agency's chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Hugh Bayley, dated 8 February 1994: The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about measures taken by the Benefits Agency took in 1992–93 to improve service by telephone. On 9 September last year the Secretary of State announced a national programme whereby all Benefits Agency District Offices will provide a One Place service by July 1994, and part of this service includes customers being able to obtain, by telephone, advice and information on Benefit Agency benefits from their local office. The National Customer Service Definition issued to all managers states the minimum hours that local office switchboards must be open, and offices are required to publish these hours. Offices will also make provision for dealing with customers who contact the office outside normal switchboard hours. The Benefits Agency is committed to improving accessibility for all our customers, including those who are hard of hearing. All offices/units have been encouraged to install the Minicom and/or Typetalk facilities (both are text telephone services). The Department has, for some years, operated a policy of replacing old and new inadequate telecommunications equipment. In April 1992 this was turned into a formal roll out programme which identified and replaced ageing and substandard switchboards in offices, with modern, digital switchboards. These replacement switchboards provide the technical platform and facilities to support the customer services and organisational initiatives developed in other areas of the Benefits Agency. In April 1993 this roll out programme was integrated with Benefits Agency Estates' programme and the implementation of IT equipment, to provide a comprehensive technical base from which to provide a uniform service. This integrated programme is ongoing and will continue for the next 3–5 years. At the Fylde Benefit Directorate there has been an enhancement to the telephone service provided during 1992–93. Measures undertaken include an increase in the number of consoles on the Fylde switchboard together with requisite staffing, and also the introduction of Direct Dial IN (DDI) to the 8,000 or so telephone extensions located on sites occupied by the directorate lines. The Central Inquiry Handling Service (CEHS), 375W renamed Customer Care Helpline in early October 1993, has had line capacity increased from 120 to 192 with staffing to match. Additionally opening hours were extended in March 1993 to cover the timeband 07.30 to 18.30. The Family Credit helpline launched in April 1993 deals with an average of 35,000 calls per week and on average 85 per cent. of those calls are answered within five rings. The Benefit Enquiry Line (BEL) was also extended in April 1993 to provide a form completion service for a range of incapacity and disability benefits. Its opening hours were extended to cover the time band 8.30–18.30 Monday to Friday and 9.00–13.00 Saturday. The equipment was further enhanced in March 1993 and now has the capacity to cope with over 100 work stations. In April 1992 40 advisers were employed with the number rising to 81 by March 1993. During 1992–93 approximately 17,000 customers telephoned BEL and used the Forms Completion Service. The Child Benefit Centre ran a pilot study last year offering a more personalised and complete service for its customers. Following the success of this pilot, the Centre embarked on a major overhaul of its internal structure, and widely publicising a list of direct dial numbers. The Child Benefit Centre is now handling three times as many calls compared to this time last year. Following a review of the Freeline service, a project manager was appointed last year to take forward a programme of improvements aimed at making the service more widely available to customers. Five Freeline centres have installed Automatic Call Distribution (ACD), which allocates calls to lines on a strictly first come first served basis. The indications are that the ACD has been effective in reducing call waiting times. It is hoped to install ACD equipment in the remaining five centres, and to open an 11th Freeline centre later this year, which will improve the service still further. I hope you find this reply helpful.