HC Deb 21 March 1994 vol 240 cc84-5W
Mr. Bayley

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make it his policy to present an annual report on the citizens charter to Parliament.

Mr. Waldegrave

Citizens charter policy is to ensure that the individual public services publish performance against commitments and standards at regular intervals. Reports to Parliament on the initiative as a whole will be made when appropriate.

Mr. Bayley

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what factors led him not to make a statement when the second report on the citizens charter was published.

Mr. Waldegrave

"The Citizens Charter Second Report: 1994" was announced by means of a written parliamentary question. A statement was not thought appropriate since the publication of reports has now become established practice.

Mr. Bayley

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many months intervened between the publication of the first and second annual report of the citizens charter; and what factors underlay the length of the interval.

Mr. Waldegrave

Just under 16 months elapsed between the publication of the first report on 25 November 1992 and the publication of the second report on 16 March 1994. There is no commitment to publish an annual report.

Mr. Bayley

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the third report of the citizens charter will be published.

Mr. Waldegrave

No date has yet been set for publishing a further report on the citizens charter. The results of individual public services performance against the charter principles will continue to be published.

Mr. Bayley

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster why he made a statement to the House when the first report on the citizens charter was published.

Mr. Waldegrave

It was considered appropriate to issue a statement to mark the first full-scale report on the Government's new policy initiative.

Mr. Meacher

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much compensation has been paid as a result of successful complaints under each of the citizens charters over the last 12 months.

Mr. Waldegrave

There are six charters for England, Scotland and Wales that contain provision for financial compensation. Information on the amount of compensation paid covering the most recent 12 month period currently available is as follows:

Department Compensation paid (nearest £000) From To
British Rail Passenger's Charter 1,932 April 1992 March 1993
2,495 April 1993 1November 1993
London Underground's Customer Charter 241 March 1993 February 1994
Her Majesty's Customs and Excise Traveller's Charter 10 January 1993 December 1993
Contributions Agency Contributors' Charter and Employers' Charter2 64 April 1992 March 1993
Benefits Agency Customer Charter 4,071 April 1992 March 1993
1 Most recent figures available.
2 Separate figures for the Contributions Agency contributors' charter and the Contribution Agency employers' charter are unavailable.

In addition to this, in the financial year 1992–93 the Employment Service paid £88,000 in special payments; in the same period the Inland Revenue paid £389,000 in compensation for "serious error" as defined in the code of practice "Mistakes by the Inland Revenue".