§ Dr. WrightTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many charters have been reissued imposing higher standards and targets; and if he will give details of the higher standards and targets in each case.
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Department Compensation paid (nearest £000) From To British Rail 4,427 April 1992 30 November 1993 London Underground 184 August 1992 7 January 1994 Northern Ireland Railways 2 November 1992 19 January 1994 HM Customs and Excise 14 January 1992 31 December 1993 Benefits Agency 4,071 April 1992 March 1993 Contributions Agency1 76 April 1991 March 1993
§ Mr. David DavisThe following charters have been revised and give details of improved standards of service.
The Benefits Agency Customer Charter now gives standards for the clearance times of all benefits rather than just the main benefits; a standard of 10 minutes for waiting to be seen by a receptionist or no more than 30 minutes when very busy; and a standard of 10 working days for responding to correspondence.The Contributions Agency employers charter now gives standards for customer satisfaction of 80 per cent., up from 75 per cent; a standard of 10 minutes for waiting to see a receptionist or no more than 30 minutes when very busy; a standard of 10 working days for responding to correspondence; a standard to respond to a request for a visit within one week and to carry out the visit within two weeks; and a standard that office appointments will be arranged within two weeks of being requested.The London Underground Ltd. customer charter now gives higher operational standards for trains in customer service—from 97.5 per cent. to 98 per cent.; for escalators in customer service—from 87 per cent. to 89 per cent.; and for lifts in customer service—from 85 per cent. to 92 per cent. It also gives higher customer satisfaction standards for providing information on trains—from 78 per cent. to 86 per cent.; for providing information on stations—from 76 per cent. to 81 per cent.; for staff helpfulness and availability—from 83 per cent. to 86 per cent.; for train cleanliness—from 76 per cent. to 81 per cent.; and for station cleanliness—from 85 per cent. to 89 per cent.Other charters due to be revised this year include the parents charter, the job seekers charter, the contributors charter, and the patients charter for Wales. In addition, the courts charter is due to be revised in early 1995.
§ Dr. WrightTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much compensation was paid(a) under previous compensation arrangements during each of the five financial years before the adoption of the citizens charter provisions and (b) under the provisions of the citizens charter (i) in total and (ii) by relevant Department and agency.
§ Mr. David DavisDetails of the amount of compensation paid under the provisions of the citizens charter and under previous compensation arrangements before its adoption are not held centrally. However, at 21 January 1994, it was estimated that £9,383,000 had been paid out in compensation under the provisions of the citizens charter. This does not, however, include compensation paid by privatised utilities or local authorities for failure to meet service standards, as details are not held centrally. This figure is broken down in the table shown.
In addition, in the financial year 1992–93, the Inland Revenue paid £389,000 in compensation for ?serious error" as defined in the code of practice "Mistakes by the Inland Revenue"; and HM Customs and Excise paid £532,000 in repayment supplements between January 1992 and 31 December 1993.
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Department Compensation paid (nearest £000) From To Employment Service 89 April 1992 March 1993 Department of Health and Social Services, Northern Ireland1 520 April 1991 20 January 1994 1 These figures represent payments made from April 1991, four months before the Contributions Agency and Northern Ireland Social Security Agency charters were introduced.
§ Dr. WrightTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) which public services have reduced the response time for dealing with complaints under the citizens charter; and if he will give details of the reduction in each case;
(2) how many complaints mechanisms for public service users contained in the citizens charter programme involve a lay element within that mechanism; and if he will give details;
(3) what form of redress or compensation is available to citizens when a public body stipulating a specific response time for complaints fails to respond within the time required;
(4) how many of the public services under the provisions of the citizens charter stipulate a response time for dealing with complaints; and what those response times are in each case;
(5) how many of the complaints mechanisms for public service users contained in the citizens charter programme now have an independent element; and if he will list them.
§ Mr. David DavisEach public service organisation is responsible for the delivery of citizens charter standards to its own particular customers, and for ensuring an appropriate response if the standard is not met.
Details of the procedures and mechanisms in place within each individual organisation are not held centrally. However, the Government recognise the importance of all public services, including Government Departments, having effective complaints procedures. In June 1993, Ministers set up the citizens charter complaints task force, with a specific remit to look at how public services deal with complaints and to ensure that their procedures operate in line with citizens charter principles. The complaints task force is chaired by Lady Wilcox, chairman of the National Consumer Council, and its members draw upon considerable expertise from both the public and private sectors.
The task force published in October 1993 a booklet "Effective Complaints Systems: Principles and Checklist", copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House. This sets out good practice in complaints handling, and it has been widely disseminated to public services. It states that people should be told when they can expect a response; be kept informed of progress; and given an explanation if deadlines are not met. It also states that complaints procedures should include independent review within the organisation where appropriate—review by someone within the organisation but separate from the direct line management of the person or section complained about; the Inland Revenue complaints adjudicator is an example of this.
The task force's programme of reviews of complaints systems in individual public services is now well under way. The task force also plans to issue over the next few months a series of discussion documents on various aspects of complaints handling, including speed of
432Wresponse and independence of investigation. The findings from its reviews, and feedback from the discussion papers, will form the basis of its final report to Ministers in spring 1995.
§ Dr. WrightTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will give details of the initiatives to date under the citizens charter programme to develop user consultation, representation and participation in public services.
§ Mr. David DavisThe citizens charter encourages all public service organisations to develop user consultation, representation and participation in the services they provide to their customers.
The citizens charter unit does not hold records of the initiatives undertaken by individual public service organisations. However, a number of initiatives have been taken centrally. In August 1993, the unit published the results of its own customer survey which showed that seven out of 10 people were aware of the citizens charter and that there was strong support for the aims of the charter. In addition, Lady Wilcox, chairman of the citizens charter complaints task force, has invited people to write to her with their experiences of how their complaints have been handled, to provide the task force with first hand information from users of public services. The task force has also recently commissioned research into what service users think of public service complaints systems.
§ Dr. WrightTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which Departments and agencies had extra-statutory compensation arrangements before the adoption of citizens charter provisions.
§ Dr. David DavisDetails of the statutory compensation arrangements in place before the adoption of the citizens charter provisions are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.