§ Mr. HammondTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the arrangements made by Sema/Nestor for recruitment under contract of sessional doctors to provide services under the Benefits Agency Medical Service contract. [80282]
§ Mr. BayleyThe administration of medical services for the Benefits Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, Peter Mathison. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Philip Hammond, dated 13 April 1999:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what assessment he has made of the arrangements made by Sema/Nestor for recruitment under contract of sessional doctors to provide services under the Benefits Agency Medical Services contract.
Sema Group was awarded the contract for the provision of medical services for the Benefits Agency on 1 September 1998. The arrangements they have made have been very successful. Currently a pool of 2,951 doctors are available to provide medical examinations, 2,529 of whom have signed formal contracts.
When Sema became responsible for the medical service they identified a small number of locations where the Agency was experiencing difficulties in recruiting doctors. The pool of doctors currently available has enabled them to steadily improve their performance against service levels in key benefits. In addition, other methods such as moving doctors voluntarily are being employed to cover any shortfalls. Sema Group now has a sufficient number of doctors to enable them to deliver performance against agreed service levels.
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