Departmental Performance Targets (Hansard, 26 March 1996)

§ Mr. Lilley

The targets I have set the Department's executive agencies for 1996–97 are as follows.

The targets represent a significant challenge to each agency, and focus effort on the key elements of their individual businesses.

The resettlement agency will have fulfilled its overall objectives by completing its disengagement programme by 31 March 1996, and will have transferred all its residual functions to this Department's headquarters by that date.

Further information on the agencies' plans for 1996–97 is contained in their individual business plans which have been published today. Copies have been placed in the Library.

The targets for 1996–97 are:

BENEFITS AGENCY

1. Benefit claims clearance times

Social Fund Crisis Loans—the day the need arises.
Income Support claims—63 per cent. in 5 days and 87 per cent. in 13 days.
Incapacity Benefit claims—65 per cent. in 10 days and 85 per cent. in 30 days.
Child Benefit claims—68 per cent. in 10 days and 94 per cent. in 30 days.
Disability Living Allowance claims—65 per cent. in 30 days and 85 per cent. in 53 days.
Faster Family Credit claims—90 per cent. in 5 days.

2. Benefit accuracy

Income Support accuracy—to pay the correct amount in 87 per cent. of cases.
Incapacity Benefit accuracy—to pay the correct amount in 94 per cent. of cases.
Family Credit accuracy—to pay the correct amount in 91 per cent. of cases.
Disability Living Allowance accuracy—to pay the correct amount in 96 per cent. of cases.

3. Financial recovery and financial control

156,700 claims of those obtaining benefit by deception to be withdrawn within 10 days of fraud investigation, and 189,000 within 28 days.
Security Savings—£1,500 million.
Overpayment Recovery—£91.5 million.
Social Fund Loans Recovery—£278 million.

4. Resource management

To manage the Agency's resources to deliver its Business Plan within gross allocation.
To keep to the cash limited agreement with Treasury for the discretionary Social Fund budget approved by Parliament.

5. Customer satisfaction

Customer Satisfaction—85 per cent. to regard the Agency's service as satisfactory or better.

CONTRIBUTIONS AGENCY

1. Performance: Compliance

Collection of contributions arrears (excluding Central Payments Section) of £220 million.
Identification of £150 million Class 1 arrears as a result of compliance work.
Actively identify 40,000 persons with Class 2 liability who have an immediate requirement to pay contributions.

2. Performance: Records maintenance

Process 98 per cent. of available employers' end of year returns by 31 December 1996.
Correct 94 per cent. of rejects from employers' end of year returns by 31 March 1997.

3. Performance: Information provision/customer service

Clear 99 per cent. of benefit enquiries handled clerically in two working days to 98 per cent. accuracy.
Despatch either a full reply, or an informative response, to 95 per cent. of customer enquiries within ten working days of receipt.
To register Appropriate Personal Pension (APP) cases and process 95 per cent. of straightforward APP termination notices within 22 working days.

4. Resource management

To manage the Agency's resources to deliver its Business Plan within a total budget of £228.775 million.

5. Customer satisfaction

Provide a level of public services considered to be satisfactory by at least 80 per cent. of customers surveyed.

CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY

1. Performance

Sixty per cent. of new maintenance applications to be cleared within 26 weeks and as at 31 March 1997 no more than 10 per cent. of all maintenance applications received by Agency to be over 52 weeks old.
To achieve a continuing improvement in accuracy so that in at least 85 per cent. of cases checked during March 1997 the cash value of the assessment will be correct.
Where a client is dissatisfied with a Child Support Officer's decision and requests a review, 55 per cent. to be cleared within 13 weeks; 80 per cent. within 26 weeks; and no more than 15 per cent. to be older than 26 weeks at 31 March 1997.
A band of £380—£400 million of maintenance to be collected or arranged for direct payment from the absent parent to the parent with care in 1996–97.
Ninety five per cent. of payments to parent with care to be made within 10 working days of receipt from an absent parent.

WAR PENSIONS AGENCY

1. Performance

Disablement First Claims (UK)—60 per cent. cleared in 145 days.
Disablement Second and Subsequent Claims—60 per cent. cleared in 135 days.
War Widows' Claims (UK)—80 per cent. cleared in 70 days.
Claims accuracy—95 per cent.
All appeals—60 per cent. in 260 days.
As at 31 March 1997, to have no more than 30 per cent. of outstanding appeals more than 260 days old.
To clear 12,000 appeals during 1996–97.

2. Resource management

To manage the Agency's administration resources so as to deliver the Business Plan within a total budget of £34.14 million.

3. Customer satisfaction

To achieve a level of 85 per cent. of war pensioners sampled who regard the Agency's service as satisfactory or better, as determined by an independent survey.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES AGENCY

1. Performance

Deliver an overall business efficiency improvement of 13.5 per cent.
Deliver 92 per cent. of services to customers to service levels for time, budget and quality as agreed in contracts.
To develop, test and deliver, to agreed timescales and with agreed functionality the Jobseeker's Allowance Payment System (JSAPS) to enable JSA implementation from 7 October 1996.
To develop, test and deliver, to agreed timescales for the Customer Accounting and Payment System (CAPS) programme, the necessary facilities to support payment by card and improved programme accounting.
Define and develop, to agreed timescales, an approach to customer satisfaction measurement which is consistent with industry standards.
Define and develop ITSA's business strategy, to agreed timescales, according to the needs of the Departmental Change Programme and the Agency's customers.

2. Resource management

Manage ITSA's resources within the Agency's Funding Regime.