§ Mr. HealdTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place the reports of the mystery shoppers who have visited Jobcentre Plus centres in the Library; and if he will make a statement on the use of mystery shoppers by Jobcentre Plus. [102777]
§ Mr. Nicholas Brown[holding answer 13 March 2003] The use of mystery shoppers in Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive, Clare Dodgson. She will write to the hon. member.
Letter from Clare Dodgson to Mr. Oliver Heald, dated 21 March 2003:
As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the placing of mystery shopping reports in the Library, and the use of mystery shoppers by Jobcentre Plus. This falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of the Agency.It may be helpful if I explain how the mystery shopping programme is used within Jobcentre Plus, and how our performance is currently reported internally and externally.Mystery Shopping is a recognised process used in both public and private sector organisations, as a method of providing an independent measure of the service received by customers.Within Jobcentre Plus we have a Customers' Charter based not only on the 6 Whitehall Service standards, but also after consultation with our customers, includes elements of service that are important to them. We use a mystery shopping programme to measure how well we deliver service against the standards and commitments we have set, and results are used by my managers to direct improvements in their performance.The Jobcentre Plus programme is one of the biggest in the UK and all main parts of delivery are included. Each quarter every Jobcentre Plus location receives a number of different mystery shopping contacts. This means that nationally we produce in excess of 6,500 individual reports every quarter.These reports are then aggregated into individual site performance summaries and District and national reports. In accordance with Jobcentre Plus overall performance reporting arrangements, we publish details of District results on the Jobcentre Plus website each quarter (www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk) and a copy of this has been placed in the Library. The individual office reports provide detailed feedback from the shoppers that managers will use to identify areas for improvement. The content of the questionnaires used in the mystery shopping programme are commercial in confidence and I am therefore unable to place copies in the House of Commons Library.I would also like to reassure you that while we use the Mystery Shopping programme to measure service delivery against defined standards, we regularly review those standards and seek the views of our customers and other stakeholders.We have just completed the first National Customer Satisfaction survey, which explicitly asks customers to comment on their level of satisfaction with the different elements of customer service. It also asks them to tell us what is important and 105W where we are not meeting their expectations. We expect to be publishing the findings from this survey in the late spring and will use the information this gives us to focus our improvement efforts.I hope this information is helpful.
§ John McDonnellTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will make a statement on the grounds for the decision by the London Region of Jobcentre Plus to reduce the number of staff working in its local office network; [101745]
(2) what assessment he has made of the impact on service delivery of the reduction by the London Region of Jobcentre Plus of staff working in its local office network. [101746]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownThe administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting Chief Executive of the Jobcentre Plus, Clare Dodgson. She will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Clare Dodgson to Mr. John McDonnell, dated 21 March 2003:
As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, I have been asked to reply to your questions concerning the reduction of staff numbers in Jobcentre Plus. This falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of the Agency.The national roll-out of Jobcentre Plus is bringing together the old separate Jobcentres and Benefit Offices to form our new integrated offices, which will provide both services in one place. Staff movement between different roles is an ongoing feature of the development of this new service.As part of our drive for efficiency and this modernisation of our services, Jobcentre Plus is reducing staffing levels in line with agreed workforce planning targets. This has included the migration of some staff to vacancies elsewhere within Departmental Agencies. It was clear, as part of these plans, that London Region would need to release the overwhelming majority of its temporary staff, approximately 5% of its workforce. Union officials have been kept informed of progress throughout the year.The radical modernisation of our services as part of the Jobcentre Plus roll-out will inevitably lead to some disruption. However, we are managing these changes to minimise any negative impact on the delivery of our services to customers.I hope this is helpful.