Child Support Agency (Hansard, 18 April 1996)

§ Mr. Hinchliffe
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he is taking to improve response times by the Child Support Agency to public correspondence and to ensure that all correspondence receives a reply. [24127]

§ Mr. Andrew Mitchell
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Miss Ann Chant to Mr. Hinchliffe, dated 17 April 1996: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency response times to public correspondence. The Agency has a charter standard to respond to written enquiries within 10 working days. For written complaints, the standard is that they should be acknowledged within 2 working days, and a full response given within 10 working days. Currently, the Agency is responding to 40% of written enquiries within 10 working days; for complaints, current performance is that 87% are acknowledged within 2 working days, with 42% receiving a full response within 10 working days. 597W The Agency is looking at ways to improve performance in this important area. Working practices within the Agency's six Centres have been altered, and greater emphasis has been put on responding quickly to clients' enquiries. Each Centre has also introduced a tracking system specifically to handle complaints. All items of mail received in the Agency's six Centres are promptly sorted, recorded on the Child Support Computer System and distributed to the relevant sections who will then take the necessary action. A diary system ensures tasks are prioritised and the progress of work is monitored until completion. If an item of post is received and staff are unable to identify which case it relates to because, for example, there is insufficient information, the Agency writes to the correspondent asking for more details. At 31 March 1996, there were a total of 127 such items in the Agency's six Centres. It is worth noting that all correspondence received by the Agency from clients does not require a written response; often it is the case that letters are received reporting changes in circumstances or requesting action to be taken. Where this is the case, the Agency takes whatever action is appropriate and no written response is necessary. On a more general note, during the next few months all the Centres will introduce Complete Action Service Teams which will deal with cases across a wide range of activities which had previously been undertaken by different sections. These teams will also help to provide a better service to our customers by keeping cases up to date and will cut down the transfer of cases within the Centres. I hope this is helpful.

§ Mr. Hinchliffe
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total Child Support Agency budget for(a) paper and (b) printing in each year of its operation. [24064]

§ Mr. Mitchell
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Miss Ann Chant to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 17 April 1996: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about paper and printing costs within the Child Support Agency. Individual costs for paper and printing are not readily obtainable as they both form part of a larger account entitled "Printing & Stationery", which includes printing, stationery and other miscellaneous stationery items. The total costs for "Printing & Stationery" for the three financial years since the launch of the Agency are as follows:

1993/94: £518,823

1994/95: £1,160,842

1995/96: £2,235,698 (subject to end of year adjustment)

I hope this is helpful.

§ Mr. Hinchliffe
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the number of items of correspondence issued annually by the Child Support Agency; and at what total cost, for each year of activity. [24063]

§ Mr. Mitchell
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Miss Ann Chant to Mr. David Hinchliffe, dated 17 April 1996: I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency correspondence. 598W I cannot provide you with a meaningful estimate of the number of items of correspondence issued annually by the Agency. This information is not recorded by the Agency as there is no business need to do so. However, I can confirm that the total costs of General Postage were as follows:

(i) During the financial year 1993–94: £1,041,851

(ii) During the financial year 1994–95: £1,607,747

(iii) During the financial year 1995–96: £1,537,482 (subject to final confirmation)

I hope this is helpful.