§ Geraint DaviesTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on the performance of the main Departments and agencies against the six service standards for central Government over the last financial year. [6177]
§ Mr. LeslieI have arranged for a report on the performance of the main Departments and agencies to be placed in the Libraries of the House.
In most cases, Departments' performance in responding to correspondence from the public has continued to improve and there have been some particularly encouraging performances leading to a considerable narrowing in the range of performance. In particular, for the first time, all Departments and agencies have answered at least 70 per cent. of correspondence within their published target. But there is no room for complacency, which is why we have introduced targets for improvements in most Departments' Service Delivery Agreements. The performance of the main Departments and agencies is summarised in the table.
Against the other standards, the report shows that performance and standards are generally in line with public expectations. Visitors to public offices are usually seen within 10 minutes of their appointment, and most visitors without an appointment are seen within the designated standards. All Departments have at least one telephone inquiry point, and calls are usually answered promptly. Use of the internet is increasing rapidly and all the main Departments dealing with the public have websites, publicise their complaints procedure on-line and are able to accept e-mailed inquiries. The report also shows some of the innovative ways in which Departments and agencies are consulting their users and making their services more responsive to users' needs.
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Comparison with performance in 1998–99 and MPs' correspondence Responses within target (1) Performance on MPs' correspondence1 2000 (%) Department/agency Target (working days) 2000–01 (%) 1999–2000(%) 1998–99(%) Department for Education and Employment 15 94 90 89 72 Employment Service (Jobcentres (5)/Chief Executive Office) 10/15 90/98 90/97 94 98 Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions 15 93 89 78 69 Driving Standards Agency 15 98 99 99 n/a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) 15 97 97 97 99 Highways Agency 15 87 83 83 78 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 15 96 92 93 n/a Vehicle Inspectorate 15 99 100 93 n/a Foreign and Commonwealth Office 20 83 84 87 78/70 (6) Government Offices for the Regions 215 93 80–99 81–100 n/a Department of Health 20 78 48 63 50 Medicines Control Agency 7 100 93 — n/a NHS Pensions Agency 20 99 100 — n/a Home Office 20 72 64 23 41 UK Passport Agency 10 98 81 97 100 HM Prison Service 20 95 94 85 75 Inland Revenue (7) 20 84 84 80 72 Intervention Board 10 93 92 79 n/a Lord Chancellor's Department 20 84 88 72 74 Court Service 20 87 93 97 66 HM Land Registry 5 96 100 94 n/a Department of Social Security 20 72 63 60 75 Benefits Agency 10 87 78 81-88 45 Child Support Agency 10 72 66 56 97 War Pensions Agency (8) 10 98 98 71 99 Department of Trade and Industry 15 95 96 92 60 Companies House 10 99 98 — 100 Employment Tribunal Service 10 81 97 — n/a Patent Office 5 100 100 — 99 insolvency Service 15 98 97 — 87 Radiocommunications Agency 15 99 98 — n/1 HM Treasury 15 74 36 — 60 1 Where available 2 Max. Note:
Performance has been rounded up or down to the nearest whole figure