HC Deb 06 February 1989 vol 146 cc486-7W
28. Mr. Burns

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what he is doing to improve the service to social security claimants.

39. Mr. Dykes

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what evidence he has that his Department's local benefit payment offices are giving a better service to the public as a result of recent publicity.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

The social security reforms which were introduced last April to make the benefit system easier to understand and to operate have led to real improvements in local office service standards. For example, the average time taken to clear income support claims in 1988–89 has been five days compared with six days the previous year, and there has been a substantial fall in average error rates from 11.6 per cent. in 1987–88 to 9.6 per cent. in the year to date. In addition, plans are in hand to tackle individual problem areas, such as some inner London offices, by relocating some of the work to parts of the country where it is easier to recruit and retain staff. In the longer term, the computerisation of social security operations will make an increasing impact in improving service delivery standards from mid-1989 onwards.

32. Mr. Jack

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what he is doing to improve the efficiency of the social security system.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

We are making very good progress in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the social security system. The new benefits introduced in April last year have simplified the system and made it easier to understand, both for claimants and for staff. As a result fewer people are finding it necessary to visit their local social security offices and the time taken to clear benefit claims has been reduced from a national average of six days for the last year of supplementary benefit to five days for the first six months of income support. National error rates have also improved, from 11.6 per cent. to 9.7 per cent. We recognise that further progress still needs to be made and to help with this we are setting improved targets and standards of service. For example, a comprehensive system of quality assessment of local office contacts with the public has been developed.

These changes are complemented by our huge computerisation programme which is transforming the administration of social security, bringing major benefits for the taxpayer and all who use the social security system. Following the successful computerisation of the family credit system in April, trials of the initial version of the new pensions system and the central index system are now under way in the first local offices. A new micro-computer based system has recently been brought into operation for the retirement pension forecast service, providing a quick, personalised reply to most inquiries. The public reaction to this has been overwhelmingly favourable. More and more people are taking advantage of the facility which we are providing to have their benefits paid direct into a bank or building society account, and over 1.5 million pensioners are now paid in this way.

We are taking further steps to provide a better and more efficient service to the public by relocating some work away from some of our most hard-pressed local offices. We are considering the manner in which we organise and run our operational systems and, in particular, whether they could with advantage be run as a "Next Steps" agency or agencies. We have an active and ongoing programme of efficiency scrutinies which has yielded savings of more than £80 million and more than 4,000 posts, and we are encouraging our staff to take an active part in helping to improve efficiency through increasing use of the Department's suggestions scheme. This has saved at least £5 million this year alone.