§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what targets she has set the Rural Payments Agency for 2002–03. [72961]
§ Margaret BeckettI have set the Rural Payments Agency the following performance targets for 2002–03
Efficiency Performance
- 1. To successfully negotiate Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Gateway 3 by 31 December 2002.
- 2. To ensure the main programme contract is ready to let by 31 December 2002, once Gateway 3 is achieved.
Financial Performance
- 3. To operate within the 2002–03 resource budget allocations as agreed with DEFRA.
- 4. To ensure that disallowance within the control of RPA due to non-compliance with EU requirement remains below 2 per cent. of the value of CAP payments made by the Agency.
- 5. To account accurately and to deadline for EAGGF funds.
Business Continuity and Service Delivery
- 6. To process and pay at least 96.14 per cent. of valid IACS claims by value within the EU deadline.
- 7. To process and pay at least 85 per cent. of valid non-IACS claims by volume within ministerial deadlines and all claims within the set EU deadlines or in their absence 60 days.
- 8. To process at least 98.5 per cent. of all valid claims correctly.
Service Quality and Delivery
- 9. To publish customer service standards that meet Charter Mark guidelines by 30 June 2002.
- 10. To use the customer survey to establish a baseline for customer satisfaction and agree and undertake improvement activities by 31 December 2002.
915W - 11. To use the EFQM Excellence Model in all RPA business units to assess current enablers' ability to deliver required targets and outcomes, agreeing change action plans by 31 March 2003.
Reform Initiatives
- 12. To use the staff survey to establish a baseline for staff satisfaction by 31 December 2002 and agree and undertake improvement activities by 31 March 2003.
- 13. To complete roll out of diversity training across RPA by 31 March 2003.
- 14. To reduce sick absence to no more than 7.9 days per staff year by 31 March 2003.