§ Mr. RendelTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if the single gateway process will(a) permit routes to independence other than work, and (b) include advice on full take up of benefits. [62625]
§ Angela EagleClaimants will be offered a package of help designed around their particular needs, and will be given access to a wide range of support and services. This will help them to focus both on the benefits of work and to plan a route back to independence.
The personal adviser will also ensure that the claimant is receiving the full range of benefits to which they are entitled, whilst providing personalised calculations of net income to help the claimant understand the extent to which they could be better off in work.
§ Mr. RendelTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what steps his Department will take to ensure that claimants subject to the single gateway are offered early interviews to allow prompt payment of benefit; [62620]
3W(2) what target has been set for the time within which claimants should be offered single gateway interviews. [62621]
§ Angela EagleThe Single Gateway process is being developed to allow for personal adviser interviews to take place, in most cases, within three working days of the first contact with the office. Processing of the benefit will run concurrently with the new Gateway processes in order to minimise delay.
There will, as now, be arrangements for meeting urgent benefit needs.
§ Mr. RendelTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the functions will be of the call centres in the pilots in Somerset, Buckinghamshire, Gwent Borders and Calderdale and Kirklees in implementing the single gateway. [62626]
§ Angela EagleFrom November 1999 we are seeking to test call centre technology in the four named pilot areas as part of the single gateway pilot programme. This programme will bring together the Employment Service, Benefits Agency and other welfare providers in a single point of contact.
We aim to test how modern technology can make the service as quick and efficient as possible. We will use call centres to perform the Registration and Orientation stages of the new arrangements as described in Chapter 3 of "A New Contract for Welfare: The Gateway to Work". We are also looking at how better telephone technology might be used to improve the service we can offer clients in other areas of Gateway work.
§ Mr. RendelTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what safeguards will be introduced to ensure that single gateway interviews are arranged at mutually convenient times, and that home visits are arranged where appropriate. [62673]
§ Angela EagleSingle Gateway interviews will be arranged in discussion with the claimant and at a mutually convenient time. A home visit will be arranged where circumstances make it impractical for the claimant to attend the office.
§ Mr. RendelTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if the personal advisers within the single gateway will operate in conjunction with the New Deal personal advisers. [62624]
§ Angela EagleThe precise working arrangements have yet to be determined. Our aim will be to offer new benefit claimants the best possible help and advice in planning a route back to independence. Our experience in the pilot areas will inform decisions about what works best.
§ Mr. RendelTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the exemptions allowed in respect of the single gateway interview. [62623]
§ Angela EagleThere will be no list of exemptions. We expect that an immediate interview will take place in the large majority of cases but this requirement may be waived or deferred where appropriate in the particular circumstances of the case.