§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 8 January 2001,Official Report, columns 470-71W, on customer helplines, if he will set out the (a) performance of the helplines and (b) targets set for them, for the last year for which figures are available. [148502]
§ Mr. RookerPerformance of the helplines and the targets for the last year for which figures are available are as follows:
National Benefit Fraud Hotline
The performance in 1999–2000 against a target of 99 per cent. was 97.9 per cent.
CSA National Enqiry Line
In 1999–2000 the performance of 80 per cent. of calls responded to within 20 seconds was 28.19 per cent. The performance of calls to the Client Helplines (CHL) to be answered first time was 81 per cent. against a target of 80 per cent.
The percentage of customers surveyed on Quality Callbacks to be at least satisfied with the service they have received was 97.29 per cent. against a target of 90 per cent1.
Benefit Enqiry Line
In 1999–2000 the percentage of calls answered within 30 seconds was 100 per cent2. The percentage of internal calls answered was 85 per cent. against a target of 90 per cent.
War Pensions Helpline
For the year ending 31 December 2000 the percentage of calls answered in 30 seconds was 100 per cent.
Public Enqiry Office
The average percentage of all calls answered in any one month during 1999 was 58.25 per cent. against a target of 65 per cent.
Child Benefit Centre
From September to December 2000 the number of calls to be taken per week was targeted at 42,000. The number of calls taken was 39,410. The performance against target was 92.3 per cent.
DLA/AA Customer Care Helpline
In 1999–2000 the percentage of calls aimed to be answered within 30 seconds was 18 per cent. against a target of 100 per cent3.
546WTo improve performance we have taken on new staff and introduced new technology as part of an on-going programme of planned improvements.
- Minimum Income Guarantee Helpline
- Winter Fuel Payment Leaflet Order Line
- Winter Fuel Payment Helpline
- New Deal for Line Parents Helpline
- Pensions Info-Line
- Mortgage Protection Line
- Welfare Reform Order Line
- The Inherited Serps Scheme Helpline.
The above helplines are contracted out to commercial organisations through the Central Office of Information. Figures are not calculated on a yearly basis and the information is not therefore available.
Notes:
1 This followed contact with NEL, Client Helplines (CHL) and Face to Face.
2 The Customer Charter states that they aim to answer calls within 30 seconds. Due to technical reasons BEL is unable to say whether or not they met this for the year 1999–2000.
3 DLA/AA Customer Care Helpline. This year's target has been revised to a more realistic 60 seconds and further work is on-going to meet Cabinet office and DSS Call Centre Guidelines, the format of which is at present being finalised. In 1999–2000 Helpline answered 3,963,478 calls, an increase of 12 per cent. on the previous year when 3,513,902 calls were answered. The target of aiming to answer calls within 30 seconds was a BA generic target primarily aimed at switchboards and direct dialled numbers. It is based on the tenet 'answer a call within 5 rings' which takes approximately 30 seconds, but was not designed with call centres in mind.