§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how he seeks to ensure easy access by all potential claimants to accurate benefit information; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the complaints handling system in each division within his Department; and if he will make a statement. [125443]
§ Angela EagleWe are modernising the way DSS services are delivered and restructuring the Department to provide a comprehensive, dedicated service focused on the needs of our key client groups: pensioners, working age people and children. Our programme includes initiatives to provide better information and effective systems for complaints and redress, if things go wrong.
255WKey improvements in quality and accessibility of information about benefits include:
Benefits Agency leaflets have been redesigned making them clearer, easier to follow and more tailored to customers needs;information on benefits is now available in bilingual/Welsh, eight ethnic minority languages, large print, audiocassette and Braille;the new Pensions Direct teleservice means we can take claims and deal with queries over the telephone;through the New Deals and the ONE service we are providing one-to-one personal help and advice on jobs, training, child care and other services, as well as information on benefits;an improved Departmental website due to be launched shortly will provide customers with easy access to benefit information and in the future will enable them to contact us electronically.We are reviewing our complaints and redress systems, in relation to our main client groups. Considerable work on this is already underway in the Department's current Agencies, most notably:
from July 2000 a new system will be introduced in Benefits Agency which will help us reduce complaints handling time;the Child Support Agency and War Pensions Agency have each recently introduced an independent body to review complaints.In addition to the Department's own complaints procedures the Parliamentary Ombudsman investigates complaints of maladministration. Since 1997, the Ombudsman's reports show a 25 per cent. reduction in the number of complaints made to him about Departmental Agencies.