Claimants (Hansard, 28 April 1994)

§ Mr. Pike
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what plans he has to introduce a uniform system between benefit offices for treating claimants; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what plans he has to make initial access to claiming benefits easier, and to alter the present system of forms into an easier, more comprehensible format; and if he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Burt
The administration of benefits is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Peter Pike, dated 27 April 1994: The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking i) what measures are being taken to introduce a uniform system between benefit offices for treating claimants and ii) what plans there are to make initial access to claiming benefits easier and to alter the present system of forms into an easier, more comprehensible format. The Secretary of State announced on 9 September last year a national programme to move towards a "One Stop" service for all the benefits processed by the Benefits Agency. This decision followed overwhelmingly positive responses from our customers and our staff to a discussion paper which we had published the previous year. The first stage of "One Stop" is a "One Place Programme". Some offices are already offering this service and by July of this year it will be in place in all BA local offices. The One Place Programme will mean that customers will be able to: ^* obtain advice and information on all benefits from their local Benefits Agency office; 283W ^* lodge a claim for any BA benefit at a local office (regardless of where that benefit is processed), report a change of circumstances and receive reliable advice about the claim to benefit from that local office. To ensure a consistent and acceptable service is available from all our outlets the Agency has distributed to all managers—and shared with customer organisations—a national Customer Service Definition, expanding on our Customer's Charter, which sets out the minimum level and scope of service to be delivered by all Districts by July 1994. You asked specifically about our plans to alter the present system of forms into an easier, more comprehensible format. The BA has its own Document Design Unit which remains committed to the principles of Plain English, clear layout and colour to produce user friendly forms and claim packs. Over the past two years the unit has been reviewing the whole of District office typist's draft letters. This has been a massive undertaking resulting in the rewriting of nearly 1,200 letters and is now nearing completion. It should be noted that the unit is among the leading prize winners in the Plain English Awards, having won the award six times between 1983 and 1991 and, in 1992, the International Council of Graphic Design Association awarded BA Document Design Unit its International Award for Excellence for "continued excellence over eight years", the first time it was awarded to an organisation in the UK and the first time to a Government Department anywhere in the world. In order to test the effectiveness of our products all new claim packs and claim forms for major changes such as a new benefit are subjected to independent market research before the final versions are produced. In addition, as part of the One Stop programme we are introducing an improved computer system—Integrated Benefit Information System (IBIS)—to support staff giving benefits information and personal benefit advice to customers. Part of the functionality planned for this new system in due course will be to capture the information supplied by the customer during an advisory interview and pre-print an acceptable claim form that the customer need only check and sign if they wish, on the basis of the advice they have received, to claim benefit. Pilots of this system in a number of offices have shown that this service is appreciated by many customers. I hope you will find this reply helpful.

§ Mr. Pike
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what levels of liaison are encouraged or practiced between Employment Service offices, DSS benefit offices and local authority housing benefit offices to ensure claimants are aware of all their claiming rights;
(2) what plans there are to encourage more inter-relations between the various points of contact to claimants of benefits, with particular reference to the Employment Service offices and local authority housing benefit departments.

§ Mr. Burt
The administration of benefits is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Peter L. Pike, dated 27 April 1994: The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking about the current levels of liaison, and plans undertaken to improve liaison between DSS benefits offices, the Employment Service and housing benefit offices. The Employment Service and local authorities have specific and distinct responsibilities for the administration of Unemployment Benefit and of Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit respectively. However, as part of our programme to improve customer service, we are working with the Employment Service and local authorities to achieve a more seamless interface between our distinct responsibilities. For example:

(1) In a number of districts we have out-station BA staff in Employment Service offices—and in two districts in local authority advice centres—to give customers advice on BA benefits.
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(2) Claim forms for Income Support by the unemployed can now be lodged at job centres as well as at BA offices.

(3) We have improved our liaison arrangements with local authorities and each District now has a Service Level Agreement with the local authorities in its area.

(4) From June this year the main computer systems supporting Income Support and Unemployment Benefit will be linked allowing the faster and automatic transmission of information and payment instructions between the two agencies.

I hope you find this reply helpful.