§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) how many complaints were received about the services provided by jobcentres in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale for the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available; [19628]
(2) what assessments she has made of the performance of jobcentres in (a) Burnley, (b) Pendle and (c) Rossendale measured against charter standards in the last 12 months.
§ Mr. ForthResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Mike Fogden to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated 11 March 1996:
The Secretary of State for Education and Employment has asked me to reply to your two recent written questions. The first concerned the number of complaints received about the services offered by Jobcentres in the Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale areas. The second question asked what assessment had been made of the performance of these Jobcentres against Charter standards.
As both questions relate to information obtained through monitoring performance against the Jobseeker's Charter, I am dealing with both questions in this reply.
The Jobseeker's Charter sets out obligations both of the Employment Service (ES) to deliver services, and of its clients. It informs jobseekers about the standards of service they can expect when visiting or calling ES offices, the help we provide, and what we expect from our clients. It is a valuable medium to demonstrate to jobseekers and others that ES is committed to looking at the services we provide, and that we actively seek to improve our standards, where possible. As part of this process, complaints about our services and suggestions for improving them are encouraged and welcomed.
Jobseeker's Charter statistical and monitoring returns are completed on a quarterly basis and, during the 12 months ended December 1995, within the Burnley ES District (which covers the areas of Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale), 61 complaints were recorded.
This should be viewed in the context of staff in the district making 120,000 job submissions and conducting over 29,000 advisory interviews during that period. You should also be aware that 45 letters were received, complimenting the ES on the service it provides locally.
As well as recording suggestions and complaints, the ES currently monitors performance against five standards of service set out in its Jobseeker's Charter. These are:
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- Telephone answering times (within 30 seconds)
- Waiting times (Clients to be seen within 10 minutes)
- Answering correspondence (replies to written correspondence within 5 working days)
- Currency of vacancies (during a sample week)
- Speed and accuracy of payments
The performance levels achieved by Jobcentres in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale in the last four quarters is detailed below. Unfortunately, some of these standards are monitored at District, rather than Jobcentre, level, so the performance information contained in the table relates to all nine offices in the Burnley ES District, rather than just those in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale.
Burnley ES District Percentage Quarter ending Standard March 1995 June 1995 September 1995 December 1995 Telephone answering time 100 96.5 85 92.8 Waiting time 90 99 97.1 99.4 Answering correspondence 100 100 100 100 Currency of vacancies 96 95.9 96 94 Speed and accuracy of payment 96.3 97.4 95.8 100 Performance against standards is regularly reviewed by ES managers and improvements are continually sought where possible. I hope this is helpful.