§ Ms LynneTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action is being taken by his Department to minimise the variations in monetary errors made in the award of income support by differing Benefits Agency offices. [18041]
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§ Mr. Roger EvansThe administration of income support is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter form Peter Mathison to Ms Liz Lynne, dated 8 March 1996:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what action is being taken by his Department to minimise the variations in monetary errors made in the award of Income Support (IS) by differing Benefits Agency offices.
The BA has a continuing programme of action to improve IS accuracy and minimise monetary errors. These include increasing the level of mandatory checks in local offices, redesigning training material and introducing refresher training workshops. The BA has also set up a team to carry out a fundamental review of IS processes.
To help individual offices identify error trends and training needs we have set up Quality Support Teams who visit every District at least once a year to give advice and support and spread good practices. Additionally, Territorial Teams have carried out Management Reviews in offices where performance is not reaching the standards set.
One of the main reasons for variation in office performance is the number of mortgage cases dealt with by each office. Mortgage cases are by far the most complex because of the many differing types of loans, the complexity of the regulations and the frequency of interest changes. The BA scrutinised all mortgage cases in 1994 and has recently implemented a change in legislation, from October 1995, to standardise the treatment of eligible interest costs. As a result of the change less clerical input is required and therefore the opportunity for error is reduced.
I hope you find this reply helpful.