HC Deb 01 April 2004 vol 419 cc1638-9W
Malcolm Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the effect in terms of timescale and cost of altering the Post Office card account application process to allow account details to be provided from Post Office Limited direct to his Department; whether he has received representations from(a) Post Office Limited and (b) others relating to the Post Office card account application process; and if he will make a statement; [162800]

(2) what assessment he has made of the timescale involved in processing an application to receive pension and benefits into (a) a Post Office Card Account and (b) a bank or building society account; whether he has assessed differences in the timescale of the different application processes for direct payment; and if he will make a statement. [163073]

Mr. Pond

[holding answer 22 March 2004]: We do recognise that some customers have been slow to send their Post Office card account details to the DWP. The DWP typically send out a conversion letter to customers shortly after they have been sent a new order book. As order books normally last for 20 weeks, this gives the customer plenty of time to open an account if necessary and supply account details.

However, it is clear that many customers do not realise that they then need to provide DWP with their card account details. We are working with the Post Office, sub-postmasters and others to solve this problem. We have improved customer information and sub-postmaster training. These actions have already had some impact and the number of customers returning account details is starting to increase. Further action will also be taken to simplify the process for customers returning account details to DWP.

Mr. Peter Duncan

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent in marketing the Post Office Card Account in the last year in(a) Scotland and (b) the UK. [155474]

Maria Eagle

The Department does not market specifically the Post Office Card Account. Instead customers are given information on all the accounts available for Direct Payment. The information is presented in a way that enables customers to decide which account option is best for their individual circumstances.

The total publicity cost for the Direct Payment information campaign during 2003–04 is estimated to be £12,462,000. This includes advertising. As this is a national information campaign, it is not possible to isolate costs for Scotland.