Benefits Agency (Hansard, 10 February 1993)

§ Mr. Burt

Ministers fully support the Benefits Agency's use of the word "customer" where appropriate. I have asked Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, to write with a full reply to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.

Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Nigel Spearing, dated 9 February 1993: 689W As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking if the Agency will cease to refer to members of the public eligible for benefits as customers and substitute the word applicant or some other words or phrases. At the launch of the Benefits Agency in April 1991 one of the four Core Values on which the Agency was to conduct its business was Customer Service. The term "customer" was introduced in an attempt to focus our attention on the people we serve and to break down long standing barriers often implied in the use of other terminology. People who use the services of the Benefits Agency are entitled to be treated with the care and respect which is normally denoted by the term customer. Customer" is also a more useful and all-embracing term than either claimant or applicant. The Benefits Agency deals not only with people who are claiming (or in the process of claiming) benefit, but also with their relatives, people acting on behalf of those claiming benefits, employers, welfare rights officers, other government departments and agencies. We use the term "internal customer" when describing the relationship between the links in the organisation, and this is a principle common to many organisations. The term reflects the attitude we should adopt and we have no plans to change it at the present time. I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report. A copy will also be placed in the Library.