HC Deb 26 May 1994 vol 244 cc306-7W
Mr. Burns

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what key targets have been set for the office of Her Majestys Paymaster General in 1994–95.

Sir John Cope

I have set demanding targets for the office of HM Paymaster General in 1994–95, but some details are commercially sensitive, The main features are:

Recovering Full Costs 1. recover through charges the full cost of running the Agency.

Reduction in Unit Costs 2. achieve at least a 3 per cent. reduction in real terms in the unit cost of paying a pension. 3. achieve a 3 per cent. improvement in the average unit cost index for banking transactions1.

MEETING CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS

Pensions 4. meet various targets for responding to correspondence and processing instructions in accordance with Service Level Agreements with individual customers. 5. meet quality targets in accordance with Service Level Agreements with individual customers.

Banking 6. meet transaction timetables in accordance with Service Level Agreements with individual customers. 7. meet quality targets for processing transactions in accordance with Service Level Agreements with individual customers.

Apex 8. meet the agreed timetable for sending financial information to the Treasury 95 per cent. of the time, and never exceed the timetable by more than 1 day.

1Banking transactions will be weighted as appropriate.

ESA Eligible Area (ha) Percentage of eligible area under agreement or applied for as at 30 April 1994 Average payment per agreement £
Stage I
Broads1 24,000 63 3,430
Pennine Dales 39,100 68 3,990
Somerset levels and moors 25,900 51 2,240
South Downs1 51,700 21 6,830
West Penwith 6,900 89 2,290
Stage II
Breckland1 51,600 9 5,630
Clun1 18,900 72 3,500
North Peak 50,500 86 15,940
Suffolk River Valleys1 32,600 27 2,900
Test Valley1 3,300 30 3,050
Stage III
Avon Valley1 3,800 19 1,960
Exmoor 67,700 55 2,300
Lake District 219,300 50 4,040
North Kent Marshes1 11,600 36 10,460
South Wessex Downs1 38,300 48 3,840
South West Peak 27,000 54 2,030
Stage IV2
Blackdown Hills 32,200 0.10 330
Cotswold Hills1 66,100 4 3,280
Dartmoor 89,000 0.02 610
Essex Coast1 23,000 1 3,560
Shropshire Hills 34,900 10 1,600
Upper Thames Tributaries1 18,000 2 5,070
1 The figures for eligible area in these ESAs contain arable land which is eligible to enter the scheme if reverted to grass. It is not expected that a high proportion of such land will enter the scheme.
2 The figures for uptake in these ESAs cover only the first six weeks of the initial application period.

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