§ Lord Burlisonasked Her Majesty's Government: What key targets have been set for the chief executive of the Veterans Agency for financial year 2003–04. [HL5179]
§ Lord BachWe have set the following key targets for the chief executive of the Veterans Agency for 2003–04. They are as follows:
Service
Key Target 1: To reduce the average time it takes to issue decisions on claims to war pensions to no more than 63 working days. This is an improvement of 19 working days on the 2002–03 target; and it represents a cumulative improvement of 37 per cent against the 2000–01 baseline level of 100 working days.
Key Target 2: To reduce the average time it takes to issue decisions on war widows claims to no more than 23 working days. This is an improvement of 11 working days on the 2002–03 target; and it represents a cumulative improvement of 36 per cent against the 2000–01 baseline level of 36 working days.
Key Target 3: To achieve an externally validated claims accuracy rate of at least 97 per cent.
Personnel
Key Target 4: To carry out an externally validated programme of internal Investors in People assessments during 2003–04 to determine whether the agency continues to meet the requirements of the IiP standards.
Working in Partnership
Key Target 5: To work with the Department for Constitutional Affairs Court Service to reduce the average time it takes an appeal to pass through the war pensions appeals process. By 31 March 2004 the average time should reduce to no more than 250 working days. This is an improvement of 60 working days on the 2002–03 target; and it represents a cumulative improvement of 56 per cent against the 2000–01 baseline level of 565 working days.
Efficiency
Key Target 6: To use the agency output costing methodology developed in 2002–03 to help identify and generate such administrative efficiencies and other savings as will enable the agency to operate within a 2003–04 running cost baseline figure that is three per cent less than its resource departmental expenditure limit for that year.