§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what sanction has been applied to his Department in cases where it has failed to meet its public service agreement targets. [159167]
§ Mr. RookerThe purpose of the Public Service Agreement is not to set sanctions. It is to set high level objectives and challenging targets which can be properly measured and monitored.
The Department's performance against its 1998 Public Service Agreement targets was set out in the Social Security Departmental Report (Cm 5115, March 2001). This shows that the majority of the targets have been met or are on course to be met. Only one target had not been met—that relating to payment for goods and services within 30 days of receipt.