§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will place in the Library the script followed by operators on each of the Department's helplines; [95237]
(2) if he will place the scripts followed by operators on each of the Department's helplines in the Library. 1102991]
§ Mr. McCartneyMost of the Department's helpline staff do not follow rigid scripts. Some parts of their conversations with customers may be scripted (for instance the manner in which customers are first greeted or the questions required to establish the caller's identity), and staff may be guided by a series of prompts to ask questions about particular topics, but the large bulk of conversations with customers are not scripted as such. I would be happy to arrange for the hon. Member to visit one of our centres or to sit in on a training session for these staff to help him appreciate the nature of the work done and why it is not feasible to place scripts in the Library. However, a script is used by the Direct Payment centre and a copy has been placed in the Library.
Percentage 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 Government Office Region Pre-1996 Post 1996 Pre-1996 Post 1996 Pre-1996 Post 1996 Pre-1996 Post 1996 Pre-1996 Post 1996 London 23 47 19 49 19 48 19 44 21 39 North West 19 49 25 50 26 50 30 48 34 43 West Midlands 19 45 22 45 21 46 21 44 21 40 North East 31 41 33 43 35 41 38 37 46 30 Yorkshire and Humberside 27 42 24 49 25 48 26 47 28 44 East Midlands 31 41 27 48 28 47 26 46 26 43 Eastern 15 49 11 56 11 56 10 57 10 52 South East 18 44 15 52 16 50 17 46 19 43 South West 21 44 16 52 15 52 16 47 21 42 Total 22 45 21 50 21 49 22 46 26 41 Note:
1. The data refer to households claiming Housing Benefit (HB), which may be a single person, a couple or a family. More than one benefit household can live in one property, for example two or more adults in a flat or house share arrangement.
2. Pre-1996 reduced rent determinations apply to cases where the accommodation is deemed to be too large for the household or where the rent is exceptionally high for the accommodation.
3. Post-1996 reduced rent determinations include restrictions under the local reference rent (LB.R) and single room rent (SRR) schemes only. The LRR was introduced in January 1996 and a revised scheme introduced in October 1997. The SRR was introduced in October 1996.
4. Cases subject to reduced rent determinations as a consequence of both pre-1996 and post-1996 restrictions have been included under the restriction that reduces the rent to the lowest amount.
5. Estimates assume that all cases are subject to all determinations in place at the time. In practice, some cases will have transitional protection from the post-1996 restrictions, so will not have their actual rent restricted. This will be particularly likely in the early years when more cases would have transitional protection.