§ Mr. Raymond S. RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what key performance targets he has set the Scottish Office Pensions Agency for 1994–95.
§ Mr. LangI have set the Scottish Office Pensions Agency the following key targets for 1994–95, which cover important areas of service delivery and steps to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
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- 1. To ensure that awards and transfer payments are accurate to within 1 per cent. of their value in 98 per cent. of cases, as compared with the 1993–94 target of 2 per cent. in 97 per cent. of cases.
- 2. To pay on time 99 per cent. of all pensions and lump sums where the target date for receipt of claims is met.
- 3. To make transfer payments within four weeks of members' final instructions to transfer pension rights.
- 4. To carry out a survey to measure customer satisfaction with administration of the national health service superannuation scheme, to analyse the results, and to produce proposals for necessary improvement.
- 5. To produce a "plain English" charter standard statement, by July 1994.
§ Sir Hector Monro[holding answer 19 April 1994]: Overgrazing is assessed by agricultural officers of the Scottish Office Agriculture and Fisheries Department as part of the inspection programme for the hill livestock compensatory allowances scheme. Discussions take place with farmers frequently about stocking rates; to date no HLCAs have been withheld because of overgrazing. The operation of the overgrazing provisions of the HLCA scheme is kept under review in individual cases by the agricultural officers concerned and more generally by the Department.