HC Deb 31 October 1996 vol 284 cc248-9W
Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what measures he has put in place to ensure that confidentiality is not breached by Post Office staff opening letters to the Child Support Agency; [66]

(2) what safeguards he has put in place to ensure that Post Office staff opening letters to the Child Support Agency are not allowed to read them; [56]

(3) what safeguards he has put in place to ensure that Post Office staff involved with the Child Support Agency in a private capacity are precluded from opening letters to the Child Support Agency at work. [57]

Mr. Andrew Mitchell

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Miss Ann Chant to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 30 October 1996: I am replying to your Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about confidentiality safeguards regarding the opening of Child Support Agency post. Client confidentiality is of the utmost importance to the Agency, and safeguarding information was an important consideration for the Agency before taking the decision to contract out its post opening requirements to the Royal Mail. All Royal Mail staff are required to sign the Official Secrets Act, just as are staff employed by the Child Support Agency. The sorting service provided by Royal Mail is identical to the procedure previously undertaken by Agency staff. Mail for the Agency is opened in a separate, secure room at each Royal Mail delivery office. The office is kept locked and staff are required to sign on entry to the room. The postal workers who open Agency post sign a confidentiality agreement relating to this work. The mail opening is continually supervised by a manager and monitored by close-circuit TV. After being opened, the mail is sorted into individual office addresses nominated by the Agency and then put in sealed pouches ready for delivery to Agency offices. The volumes involved and the large scale use of machinery in the process makes the reading of individual letters and forms an impractical proposition. I hope this is helpful.

Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many complaints he has received from people using the Child Support Agency relating to breaches of confidentiality in each of the last five years. [65]

Mr. Mitchell

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Miss Ann Chant to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 30 October 1996: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about breaches of confidentiality relating to the Child Support Agency. It is not possible to answer your Question in precisely the form that you have requested, as statistics on the number of complaints are not recorded by category. However, any apparent breach of confidentiality by Agency staff (whether it emerges via a complaint or our internal checks) is treated very seriously and thoroughly investigated. All staff are made aware of the importance of this aspect of the Agency's work. Since its launch in 1993, the Agency has handled over 1.7 million cases: the total number of confidentiality breaches resulting in disciplinary action is 47. The table below shows a yearly breakdown of this figure. The vast majority of cases were the result of human error, e.g. wrongly directing mail. In one case confidentiality was breached knowingly: this led to the dismissal of the person involved.

Year Number of confidentiality breaches
1993–94 0
1994–95 4
1995–96 28
1996 to date 15
I hope this is helpful.

Mrs. Dunwoody

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what consultations he undertook before giving permission for Post Office staff to open letters from people writing to the Child Support Agency. [67]

Mr. Mitchell

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Miss Ann Chant to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 30 October 1996: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security regarding consultations about the opening of Child Support Agency post. Following a feasibility study, the Agency decided to contract out its post opening requirements to the Royal Mail. The Agency ran a six month pilot exercise to test procedures and issues such as security and client confidentiality. Full consultations were undertaken with local and national Agency Trade Union representatives before this decision was taken; Agency staff and managers involved in post opening duties were also fully consulted. I hope this is helpful.