§ Ms CorstonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 14 March,Official Report, column 758, what would have been public spending on the state earnings-related pension scheme, assuming the legislation of the early 1980s had remained in force, in 1994–95,2000–01, 2010–11, 2020–21 and 2030–31 at 1994 prices. [26448]
§ Mr. HealdThe table gives the estimated state earnings-related pension scheme expenditure assuming that the Social Security Acts of 1986 and 1995 had not been introduced. For comparison, the table also includes the current estimates of SERPS expenditure.
with particular reference to the answering of calls to its telephone helpline. [26879]
§ Mr. HealdThis is a matter for Kevin Caldwell, the chief executive of the War Pensions Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
637WLetter from K. C. Caldwell to Sir Cranley Onslow, dated I May 1996:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the steps we are taking to meet the conditions of our Charter Standard Statement with particular reference to answering calls to our telephone Helpline.Our Charter Standard Statement states "If you phone our Helpline we will answer your call within 30 seconds". These standards were set when the number of calls being presented to the Helpline was in the region of 10 to 11,000 per week. Calls are now averaging over 20,000 per week and, in spite of the increase, are being answered within an average of 38 seconds.To cope with the increase, the answerphone facility (originally installed for messages to be left outside office hours) was expanded to run throughout the working day, for messages to be left when all lines were busy. The volume of messages on the answerphone machine however grew to an unacceptable level, resulting in Helpline advisors spending too much time making call-backs to pensioners rather than being free to answer incoming calls direct.The machine was being accessed over 800 times daily, but only 40% of callers actually left a message. We conducted a survey of a random sample of callers. A great majority said they would rather wait a little longer in the queuing system than leave a message. We therefore now limit the usage of the answerphone to peak times only during the working day as well as evenings and weekends.All calls to our Helpline are routed via an automatic call distribution system. The system provides statistical information, to enable Helpline management to measure performance against Charter Standards and to tune the service.We have recently re-assessed the levels and flow of calls presented to the Helpline, and the staffing required to answer the calls. As a result we are now in the process of recruiting further advisors—part-timers who will help cover the daily peaks. We have also had a technical review of the service performed by the
DLA1 DWA IB2 AA1 SDA Cardiff and Vale District 15,100 58 17,300 9,800 3,185 Eastern Valleys District 21,400 78 34,706 9,400 3,222 Gwent Borders District 14,000 56 18,052 6,500 2,090 Gwyneddigion Maldwyn District 10,100 94 14,570 7,400 2,453 Mid Glamorgan District 21,700 82 32,358 11,000 3,294 Swansea Bay District 21,300 92 32,844 13,700 3,462 West Wales District 14,700 97 20,461 9,300 2,516 Wrexham and North Wales Coast District 19,600 107 23,731 13,000 4,108 These Figures are Provisional and subject to change. Figures for DLA/DWA are as at 29 February 1996. Figures for IB, AA, and SDA are as at 31 March 1996. 1Figures based on source 5 per cent. data (Analytical Services Division), DLA includes both mobility and care components. 2Includes 1B short term (lower), IB short term (higher) and IB long term.