§ Mr. CongdonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will make a statement on the plans of the National Health Service Pensions Agency; and how the agency has performed against its 1992–93 performance targets since its launch on 20 November 1992.
§ Mr. SackvilleI am pleased to announce that I have now approved the three-year corporate plan of the National Health Service Pensions Agency and its annual business plan for 1993–94. In addition the agency has been set long-term customer service targets. These are shown in the table; also recorded is the agency's achievement against its 1992–93 targets for the first four months of its operations and the new key service and efficiency targets for 1993–94.
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National Health Service Pensions Agency Customer Service Targets Product and Clearance Standard Long Term Target Achieved Key Targets 1992–93 1993–94 Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Pension Awards1 Within four weeks of receiving application from employer 95 90.3 91 Within eight weeks of receiving application from employer 99 97.4 99 Pension Estimates (Non-Practitioner) Within four weeks of receiving request 95 89.8 91 Within eight weeks of receiving request 99 98.0 99 Pension Estimates (Practitioner) Within six weeks of receiving request 95 43.8 71 Within eight weeks of receiving request 99 83.4 99 Transfer Payments Within eight weeks of receiving application 99 98.0 99 Transfer Estimates Within eight weeks of receiving application 99 2— 99
Product and Clearance Standard Long Term Target Achieved Key Targets 1992–93 1993–94 Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Correspondence All replies to be sent within four weeks 100 2— 100 1 For incapacity awards, the periods start from confirmation of medical incapacity. 2 New Targets. Efficiency gains: Ensure that Agency's expenditure is contained within running costs and other cash limits and deliver at least 2 per cent. Efficiency gains.