§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to ensure that trained staff are always available in Jobcentre Plus offices to deliver pensions advice in areas where there is no local pension service in place: and if he will make a statement. [67858]
§ Mr. Simon ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what opportunities there will be for pensioners to receive face-to-face advice on their particular case under the new Pensions Service and Jobcentre Plus schemes for(a) exceptional and (b) day-to-day cases. [72189]
§ Mr. McCartney[holding answer 23 July 2002]: The Department for Work and Pensions is currently creating an entirely new service focused on the needs of today's and tomorrow's pensioners.
By bringing together pension-related services customers of The Pension Service will be given a dedicated service in a way that is convenient for them.
Many pensioners already deal with us over the phone—over two-thirds of Retirement Pension claims are made via the Pensions Direct telephone service—and this will increasingly be the case. So we are developing 26 modern centres using the most up-to-date equipment to deal with queries accurately and efficiently.
These centres will be backed up by local services delivered in partnership with organisations very used to dealing with pensioners' needs, provided in locations accessible to pensioners. The local service will employ twice as many people undertaking similar activity in the old Benefits Agency.
The Pension Service is committed to providing the best for our customers and training holds the key to that. We will provide technical training to ensure that staff can do their job well and enhance their competencies in areas such as customer service. They will focus entirely on the needs of pensioners, ensuring an expert service which we believe our customers will want to use.
We do recognise that there will be occasions when customers with a pension query might visit a Jobcentre Plus office in their community, particularly whilst the new arrangements are being introduced. Jobcentre Plus staff will deal with pensioners visiting such offices courteously and efficiently. They will ensure that the customers are given appropriate contact details for the Pension Service where there will be trained staff who will be able to deal effectively with their query.
In the meantime, our customers can continue to access our services via the existing social security network until the new local arrangements apply.
This is a period of change but it is change to create a better service. As the new Pension Service is rolled out in each area existing pensioners will receive letters explaining those changes fully and giving them all necessary contact details.
1545WPensioners deserve a decent modern service tailored to their needs; The Pension Service will deliver it.