HC Deb 01 July 1997 vol 297 cc135-6W
Mr. Todd

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what arrangements there are to ensure a high quality of telephone access to the Child Support Agency; and if she will review the quality of telephone access. [2182]

Mr. Keith Bradley

We expect the Child Support Agency to provide an efficient and effective service to all its clients throughout the child support assessment process.

The Secretary of State has asked the Child Support Agency to improve the telephone service it offers to its customers. To do this the Agency plans to employ staff to work a wider more flexible range of working patterns over six days a week. This will provide more opportunities for customers to contact the Agency and vice versa, and will enable the Agency to deliver a better standard of customer service through greater use of the telephone and faster throughput of cases.