Benefits Office, Evesham (Hansard, 29 July 1998)

§ Mr. Denham

The administration of the Benefits Agency is a matter for Peter Mathison, its Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Peter Luff, dated 28 July 1998: The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question, asking what assessment she has made of the impact of the closure of the Evesham Benefits Office on the service available to residents of the Vale of Evesham. The Benefits Agency (BA)'s Evesham caller office was open on a part-time basis of 2 days per week (5½ hours a day), which offered a service limited to customer enquiries and the provision of advice and information. This office was closed at the end of March 1998 following an extensive consultation exercise. During this exercise the BA identified that services to the customer could be improved with closer working with the Local Authority and by using existing facilities at Worcester BA office and Evesham Employment Service Jobcentre (ESJ). Since the introduction of Jobseekers Allowance in October 1996 there is a full-time BA presence in Evesham ESJ and BA representatives in ESJs are prepared and equipped to deal with enquiries from other customers. Since the closure of the caller office, the level of enquiries from Evesham customers has been carefully monitored. There has been no noticeable effect on telephone enquiries or personal callers to the Worcester BA office, or on the level of callers to the BA representative located in the Evesham ESJ. The Evesham "One Stop Shop", a facility run by the Local Authority, had undertaken to boost its service following the closure of the caller office, and was provided with training and leaflets to this end. The number of enquiries dealt with by the "One Stop Shop" increased from 311 for three months prior to the closure to 390 in the three months ending 30 June 1998. However, this relates to all enquiries, not just BA queries. Nevertheless, the staff there report a greater demand for BA leaflets since the closure of the Evesham caller office. It is perceived therefore that the number of enquiries on BA matters has also increased to some extent. The "One Stop Shop" is able to cope with this extra volume of business. I hope that this is helpful.