§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Mr. Tony McNulty)Key Performance Targets have been agreed for the Rent Service Agency for the business planning period 1 April26WS 2003 to 31 March 2004. The targets are included in the agency's business plan, which includes management objectives, performance indicators and key tasks.
Copies of the business plan will be placed in the Library in due course.
The key targets for The Rent Service are:
To process 87 per cent. of Housing Benefit Determinations without an inspection within three working days.To process 87 per cent. of Housing Benefit Determinations with an inspection within 15 working days.To process 87 per cent. of Pre-Tenancy Determinations within four working days.To process 87 per cent. of Redeterminations within 15 working days.To process 87 per cent. of Fair Rent Determinations within 40 working days.To increase the number of cases determined per employee by a minimum of 1 per cent. whilst reducing the costs per case by a minimum of 1 per cent. in real terms, and with improvements in the quality of service provided.To achieve a 2 per cent. reduction in the number of Local Reference Rent Housing Benefit cases that are amended by more than 5 per cent. on redetermination.To achieve a 1 per cent. reduction in the number of Fair Rent cases that are amended by more than 10 per cent.on appeal to the Rent Assessment Committee.To improve customer satisfaction rating from 85 per cent. to 87 per cent. in 2003–04. This percentage relates to people who rate the Agency's service as "good" or better.The key performance targets remain more challenging than the statutory requirements for the Rent Service and represent the Government's commitment to continuous improvement of the Service.