§ Mr. QuinnTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action will be taken in Northern Ireland to involve the private sector in delivery of social security services. [12276]
§ Mr. WorthingtonThe Government's objective is to create a modern welfare state where social security benefits are to bring people into mainstream society and are not simply hand-outs. The delivery of benefits has to be modernised as well as the system itself. Privatisation is not the only way of improving quality and reducing costs, but we see no reason why the public sector should deliver services if there are more efficient ways of doing so. The Society Security Agency, in conjunction with the Benefits Agency, has initiated a project to involve private sector consortiums to explore opportunities for the modernisation of service delay. This project fits well with our approach to public-private sector partnerships and 527W action on it will continue. Specific details will soon be announced by the chief executive of the Social Security Agency.
Alongside this, whenever the private sector is used in the future, the arrangements will be strengthened to:
Define a minimum quality of service threshold when we assess bids.Contracts will not be awarded if a supplier fails to reach this threshold.Place greater emphasis on evaluation of suppliers' management of staff transfers.Provide guidance to potential and current suppliers to make clear what we consider to be good employment practice.Strengthen contract monitoring to assess suppliers' performance including quality of service, management of people, cost efficiency, evaluation and feedback on performance.I believe that this approach will ensure that the best possible social security service will be delivered to people in Northern Ireland by committed staff at the right cost to the taxpayer.