§ The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Paul Murphy)The Compensation Agency will publish today its Corporate Plan for 2003 to 2006 and Business Plan for 2003 to 2004. I have set the Agency the following Key Performance Targets for 2003 to 2004:
Claims under the Criminal Damage (Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1977
- Maintain average time taken to reach decisions at 19 weeks for claims received from 1 April 2003;
- Reduce by 85 per cent. the number of claims in hand at 31 March 2003 on which no decision has been reached; and
- Process claims under the Criminal Damage and Terrorism Act schemes at a combined average unit cost of £140.
Claims under the Terrorism Act 2000
- Reach decisions on claims in 53 days for claims received from 1 April 2003;
- Reduce by 85 per cent. the number of claims in hand at 31 March 2003 on which no decision has been reached; and
- *Process claims under the Criminal Damage and Terrorism Act schemes at the combined average unit cost of £140.
- *This unit cost target relates to claims under the Criminal Damage and Terrorism Act schemes. The work involved in processing these claims is carried out in a single organisational unit within the agency so the efficiency of this element of the agency's operations is measured by reference to a combined unit cost target.
Claims under Criminal Injuries (Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1988
- Reduce by 45 per cent. the number of claims in hand at 31 March 2003; and
- Reach a decision on 50 per cent. of undecided criminal injuries claims in hand at 31 March 2003.
Claims under the Criminal Injuries Compensation (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 (Tariff)
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- To decide 45 per cent. of all applications within 12 months of receiving the application.
- To reach decisions on applications at an average unit cost of £290.
Compliance with Legislation/Standards of Adjudication—All Schemes
That the agency's standards of adjudication are appropriate which will be confirmed by the Department's internal audit branch through random sampling of claims.Value for Money—All Schemes
Manage the workload in 2003–04 within a running costs budget (to cover salaries and administrative expenditure) to financial limits agreed with the Department (including in-year adjustments).