§ Liz BlackmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he is taking to improve the efficiency of the Redundancy Pay Services Department offices in processing redundancy claims. [64519]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyThe Redundancy Payments Service has considerably simplified the process of handling claims with a new computer system. This has enabled claims to be sent direct to the Service rather than through insolvency practitioners, cutting out delays and also saving about £1 million a year in administrative expenditure, while allowing for a small increase in the number of staff handling claims. It has also enabled claims for different types of payment to be combined, which were previously made separately. Improvements to the new system are still being made in the light of subsequent operational experience. An officer has also been nominated in each office to ensure that complaints from customers are addressed quickly and any necessary lessons learned. Their direct telephone numbers will be published in the Service's Charter leaflet in the New Year and issued with every redundancy claim form.