HC Deb 06 March 2000 vol 345 cc487-8W
Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list(a) those targets of the Defence Communications Services for 1998–99 which (i) were and (ii) were not achieved, giving the factors affecting the outcome in each case and (b) action taken by the agency to improve target achievement performance in 1999–2000; and if he will make a statement. [111748]

Dr. Moonie

This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Communication Services Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the right hon. and learned Member.

Letter from A. J. Raper to Mr. Menzies Campbell, dated 6 March 2000: I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence, about the targets for the Defence Communication Services Agency, as this matter falls within my area of responsibility, being the Chief Executive of the Agency. I am pleased to report that the DCSA achieved all of its Key Targets for the Financial Year 1998/99. Further information is contained on Page 10 of the DCSA Annual Report 1998/1999, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The DCSA Key Targets for 1998/99 were essentially developmental targets for the first year of the Agency's existence. They were primarily concerned with system availability as opposed to measuring of a service. This was a reflection of the approach historically taken by Defence in the provision of information services. However, it is the quality and availability of the services which are of importance to Defence customers and the Key Targets for FY 1999/2000 therefore focus on measurement of these services. Clearly, the new Key Targets needed to be both quantitative and measurable. I have included details of them at Annex A for your information. Given the need to focus upon the provisions of services, the DCSA has changed its internal management processes accordingly and reviews the performance of its services against the new Key Targets on a monthly basis. The information is presented to the Management Board using a Balanced Scorecard approach, supported by a comprehensive monthly report, which provides detailed analysis of Agency performance against its Business Plan and all 4 Key Targets. The Agency has improved performance against the targets by designing and then refining the internal business processes that are needed to deliver services. The proposed Key Targets for Financial Year 2000/01 will not change as radically as the change between the Agency's first years with the exception of the inclusion of a new efficiency target: to achieve an improvement in efficiency by reducing the average unit cost of output for current DCSA products by 5% per annum. DCSA Key Targets For 1999/00

  1. 1. KT1—Service Quality—To achieve a mean 95% of the quality of service performance targets in the Baseline Services Document for the timeliness, accuracy and protection of information transfer services except where other specific targets have been agreed with customers.
  2. 2. KT2—Service Provisioning—To commission 90% of new requests for service on or before the dates agreed with customers.
  3. 3. KT3 Service Restoration—To restore 95% of interrupted services classed as operationally urgent within 4 hours or within specific other periods agreed with customers.
  4. 4. KT4 Operator Services—To answer 85% of calls to DCSA telephone Operator Assistance Centres in UK and Germany within 15 seconds.
  5. 5. The following targets were also proposed as Key Targets for FY 1999–2000 but were deemed inappropriate. They have, however, been included within the Agency's Corporate Plan as strategic objectives:
    1. a. Customer Satisfaction—To be graded Moderate or High in 70% of customer surveys.
    2. b. Efficiency Measurement—To establish a baseline of unit costs of the DCSA's outputs against which efficiency targets can be set in future years.