Benefits Agency (Hansard, 25 November 1996)

§ Mr. Roger Evans

This is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Tony Worthington, dated 21 November 1996: The secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary questions asking what is the staffing complement of the Benefits Agency (BA) office in Clydebank; how many casual staff are currently employed; and in what capacity; 107W what measures are in place to ensure that casual and partly trained staff are not employed in direct contact with clients to administer benefits in the BA office in Clydebank; what estimate he has made of the impact on the annual staffing costs in the Clydebank BA office from the employment of casual rather than permanent staff. As at 31 October 1996 there were 157 staff in post at the Benefits Agency office in Clydebank. This figure included 10 staff employed on a casual basis on general administrative assistant duties. There are no vacancies at present. All staff in the Benefits Agency office in Clydebank who are in direct contact with customers receive appropriate training for these duties. Staff in contact with the public receive between 1-15 weeks training depending on the nature of their duties and their previous experience. This training also includes time observing an experienced receptionist. Casual staff employed by the Benefits Agency at Clydebank office are paid on the same payscales as their equivalent permanent counterparts. They do not, in common with all casual civil servants, belong to the non contributory Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme. There are no savings from this to the local office staffing budget. I hope you find this reply helpful.