House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee
Pension, Disability and Carers Service
Oral and written evidence
Wednesday 17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson
Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 17 December 2008
HC 104-i Published on 9 February 2009 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £0.00
The Work and Pensions Committee
The Work and Pensions Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department for Work and Pensions and its associated public bodies.
Current membership Terry Rooney MP (Labour, Bradford North) (Chairman) Anne Begg MP (Labour, Aberdeen South) Harry Cohen MP (Labour, Leyton and Wanstead) Michael Jabez Foster MP (Labour, Hastings and Rye) Oliver Heald MP (Conservative, North East Hertfordshire) John Howell MP (Conservative, Henley) Joan Humble MP (Labour, Blackpool North and Fleetwood) Tom Levitt MP (Labour, High Peak) Greg Mulholland MP (Liberal Democrat, Leeds North West) John Penrose MP (Conservative, Weston-Super-Mare) Jenny Willott MP (Liberal Democrat, Cardiff Central)
Powers The committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk.
Publications The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the Internet at www.parliament.uk/workpencom.
Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are James Rhys (Clerk), Emma Graham (Second Clerk), Amy Sweeney and Hanna Haas (Committee Specialists), Laura Humble (Committee Media Advisor), John-Paul Flaherty (Committee Assistant), Hannah van Schijndel (Committee Secretary) and John Kittle (Senior Office Clerk).
Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Work and Pensions Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 5833; the Committee’s email address is [email protected]
Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [SO] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 1 Oral evidence
Taken before the Work and Pensions Committee
on Wednesday 17 December 2008
Members present
Mr Terry Rooney, in the Chair
Miss Ann Begg Mrs Joan Humble Harry Cohen Tom Levitt John Howell Greg Mulholland
Witnesses: Mr Terry Moran, Chief Executive, Ms Vivien Hopkins, Chief Operating OYcer, and Mr Nigel Richardson, Customer and Partnership Director, Pension, Disability and Carers Service, gave evidence.
Q1 Chairman: Good morning, everyone. Welcome Mr Moran: I should say, by way of introduction to to our evidence session for the Pension, Disability that, that we have not announced to our staV yet the and Carers Service. Welcome Mr Moran to your outcome of that. Some of the discussions that I have team. It is a while since we have seen you. You have now will be on the basis of the things we have been been promoted since then, so congratulations on looking at rather than specifically what we are doing. your new appointment. Are you now part of the The review that I think particularly colleagues may management team? be interested in is what we are doing on the Pension Mr Moran: Yes, I am, Chairman. Service side of the delivery of services. Many members will know that we have embarked on a Q2 Chairman: This was of grave concern to us last seven-year plan for transforming those services to time, I do recall. pensioners and some amazing things have been Mr Moran: I do. I think within a month of that achieved—not least being able to make claims to hearing Leigh Lewis made me a full member. benefit over the phone and sometimes getting the outcome of that there and then, in a 20-minute call. V A fantastic achievement. But one of the things we Q3 Chairman: We have an e ect, it is nice to know. V Perhaps I can kick oV. We understand that the have been seeing over the last year is that sta have merger of the two departments cost just £200,000, found it increasingly demanding to achieve having which in my experience of mergers seems incredibly full knowledge of State Pension and Pension Credit cheap. What went wrong? benefits. Therefore, if you get an inquiry over the Mr Moran: I think a lot of things went right. We did phone or you receive follow-up evidence in paper not approach this on the basis that we were going to form or, indeed, you receive a claim on paper, the go through a huge new branding exercise or role that required you to do all of that on the anything like that. We wanted to maintain the telephone and all of that with paper processing existing brands that were out there and where a lot meant that staV were struggling to get hold of the full of money is often spent, and over time to ensure that knowledge while at the same time delivering the we bring the services more eVectively together. We service. Our experience was showing that it was are doing more saving of money as a result of taking us 20 weeks to get a member of staV to a fully bringing the two organisations together than productive level and then not accurately at the levels spending money. By creating a single agency, rather we needed. We had to step back and look at what all than having two with two separate overheads, we of that meant, to understand, could we, with the think that will realise £5million in a full year, once we technologies that we have and which work great for have completed the process. I do not think anything us, deliver diVerently what we have to do on behalf has gone wrong on that. It has been on the basis that of customers. That is what the review has been we have done it in a pragmatic, sensible way. looking at. When it comes to the announcement early in the New Year, we will be confidently able to Q4 Chairman: Would you say it was a meaningful say that we are responding very much to the V exercise? concerns that sta have shared with us about Mr Moran: I do. As I hope we will come on to during allowing them to do jobs that they feel they can do the session, Chairman, we will be able to better, which is what they want. We want to continue demonstrate some of the benefits that are being to protect the advances that have been made already, made now and we hope we will continue to make like making claims over the phone eVectively and over time. quickly.
Q5 Chairman: You announced a couple of months ago a review of how the service is delivered. What is Q6 Chairman: What would you say the biggest, the score? Remind me of that. How is it going? single benefit of this merger is for customers? Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Ev 2 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson
Mr Moran: We are only six/seven months into the imaginative about how we involve local new agency. First and foremost we started communities and, indeed, the friends and families of addressing the basics of delivery, so that we ensured people who may be eligible. We have identified 20 that customers who have needs that go beyond either areas across the country where we think the greatest one of the two former agencies are better joined up. unmet need exists. I will invite Nigel to say a bit more We are already seeing improvements in the work on that. that is available, so that is considerably lower than it Mr Richardson: It has become very clear that some was a year ago. We are seeing the first signs of of the traditional methods and techniques of mass accuracy in payments of Pension Credit increasing. media in terms of trying to influence some of these We are seeing, through our local service, increasing resistant groups has shown lots of diminishing numbers of claims being taken for non pensioner returns. The economic equation of the cost to benefits. For example, we are seeing Disability convert those has proved very, very diYcult. As Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance claims Terry highlighted, there are consistently numbers rise in just this year alone, forecast to be 11% higher which we run into in our day jobs, particularly in the than last year as a result of activity we are generating local service arena, which have borne out that the by looking at the customer more holistically. I think percentage of people who will turn away a benefit is those are some of the early signs of what we are in the high 20s, where often they can be entitled to it doing. Over time, we want to ensure that the service but not persuaded to take it. We are at an interesting people receive when they phone us will go beyond point in our evolution of Pension Credit. Our just the pensioner benefits and the Housing Benefits evolution is taking us to a couple of things really. and the Council Tax Benefits that we can do over the One is where we need to be much more targeted phone, but that we will also trigger entitlements to about it. We have recently been developing a other disability benefits, for example, where those targeting toolkit whereby we are able to identify exist. pockets where we think there is a higher propensity of people to be eligible not to just Pension Credits Q7 Chairman: Are the Treasury happy with this but other benefits regionally. We have also built a 11% increase? targeting toolkit based on every individual Mr Moran: I do not consciously discuss it with them pensioner that we hold information on. In terms of but these are claims that have been meaningfully modelling, those two axes have enabled us to come generated and we are responding to that demand. down on, as Terry mentioned, our 20 regions, but it Chairman: We will watch this space. is not just about 20 regions, it will become part of our business as usual. The interesting point about how we want to take this forward is that we would like Q8 Greg Mulholland: I would like to ask some something we learned from the LinkAge Plus pilots questions about Pension Credit. The first thing to show up a lot more in those communities; that is, concerns the figures between 2005–06 and 2006–07. the communities where vulnerable people go has Pensioner poverty has gone up quite markedly by been proven to be a very eVective way to get passed 300,000 people to 2.5 million now. That is a very some of that resistance that people have in terms of concerning figure and that is before housing costs. take-up. Our approach is to work much more To what extent do you think that rise could be through our partners, our advocates, and our friends ameliorated if people were claiming Pension Credit? and families, having identified where we think those How much linkage do you think there is between target groups are. The whole approach is saying, those two figures? “Let’s work through our partners, even some new Mr Moran: It is diYcult to say, because I think there partners that we have identified, and where people is a lot of research here that is not always consistent. are comfortable in terms of what they do, in terms of We do know that there is a lot of unclaimed benefit. their leisure activities.” We are even looking at Some of it is Pension Credit and, in volume terms, things like MECCA Bingo, for example. From some the biggest proportion is Council Tax Benefit. I will of our analysis we have seen that generations of invite Nigel in a moment to talk about what we have family will often go into those areas, and it means been doing, but one of the things with Pension that we can get some influence from people, to start Credit that we find repeatedly is that some of our to generate more take-up of benefits. Our partner customers who are on State Pension and who have network becomes much more of a detection an eligibility for Pension Credit from the network, as I like to think of it, going forward, and information that we already know, when we have we want to make a real play on that. Interestingly, written to them to pursue their entitlement, they this very year we have seen that referrals by partners have declined it for all sorts of reasons. Some of are up by 20%, so we are starting to see some of that these people we have written to six times. We have traction. That is very much our approach to worked with partner organisations like Age Pension Credit. Concern, where we have done what we can locally to try to influence people to take up something that they welcome. The more we do in that space, I am Q9 Greg Mulholland: That is useful and insightful. not sure we are going to continue to succeed. Thank you for that. I would like to ask a question Certainly the take-up target that we have this year in which I think will be very useful for the Committee terms of the value of Pension Credit take-up and the and for the Government. Do you publish figures for volume of claims, the 250,000 extra, we are on target the number of people you have asked if they would to hit, but we are doing so by being a little bit more liketohavePensionCreditandtheyhavesaidno?Ido Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 3
17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson not mean people who have responded, but people was not going in the right direction. Do you think who have said, “No, thank you. I don’t want it.” thesenewinitiativeswilltakeustothosetargets,ordo Clearly we have the figures for the people who are not you think those targets are reasonable and the right claiming who are eligible, but I think it would make ones? sense to be saying, “Of those people, this proportion MrMoran:Whenanypublicserviceorganisationlike have said no, because that is their right to do that.” ours has a target, we do our absolute utmost to get it Mr Richardson: We do not routinely publish that, Mr delivered. Do I have confidence that we could deliver Mulholland. I cannot recall whether anyone has ever that number? I could not just say yes, because that asked us, through a PQ, for example, and whether would be a comment that was not thought through. that has ever got into the public domain in any We are identifying ways in which we are reaching meaningful way, but we certainly do not routinely more of the people than we have ever reached before, publish it.1 and therefore we have a better opportunity of getting to it. Do we know whether all those things will work Q10 Greg Mulholland: It surprises me that and deliver that number? We do not yet know. government ministers have not picked up on that and Mr Richardson: The interesting thing is we have I think it would be sensible for them to do so, frankly. learned much more about customer dynamics Mr Richardson: Understood. around Pension Credit and it is a fact of life that there is an inherent resistance with certain groups of people. That is both shown up in social research but Q11 Greg Mulholland: An opportunity that is not also in terms of our operational day-to-day being taken is with the increasing use of call centres environment. In terms of us being able to deploy a and call centre technology. Why are you not using very eVective approach, because this could become telephony and that opportunity more to get out and extremelycostly,wehavetomakesurewearekeeping contact people, in terms of the take up of all benefits, pace with our operations. Rather than driving lots of but particularly with Pension Credit? nugatory waste in terms of mass campaigning, which MrRichardson:Thatisverymuchinourplan.Aspart could end up in fraud and error perhaps within the of this integrated approach, although the operation, we do need to be very careful about how cornerstone is within communities, we would still we step through this in an aligned way with our expect to use some of the traditional media including operations as we move towards this merged agency. I telephony.Someoutboundtargetedtelephonyispart think some of these initiatives should help us to of what we want to invoke for those people. We have address some of the take-up issues and the potential used our targeting toolkit at the individual level for that is there. those people, to try to persuade them in terms of the opportunities and take-up. Interestingly, that target is one whereby, again, we will be taking people where Q13 Greg Mulholland: Do you have figures on we can identify not just high eligibility to reasonable awareness amongst eligible people? amounts but also what I call persuadability, because Mr Moran: Yes. we have built extra information that leads us to think that we can rank that a lot better. Outbound Q14 Greg Mulholland: The average sum being telephony will be part of that. claimed is £28.40, which, although it does not sound Mr Moran: At the end of the day, somehow or other like a huge amount of money, I am sure you would government doing this does not always work for agree must be an absolutely enormously significant some of our customers. That is why working with our amount of money for the target group. Do you think partners and local communities is helpful, whether people are aware of Pension Credit and Guarantee that is through a letter or a phone call. To tie up what Credit and also of the amount of money that we are I was saying earlier about the Council Tax Benefit, we talkingabout, whichcouldbevery significanttothem have for a while now been taking claims for Council on a day-to-day basis? Tax Benefit at the same time as State Pension and MrRichardson: Wefoundfromsome pastresearch— Pension Credit claims, and we were, until just over a which is not right up to date but I think still holds month ago, sending that form for the customer to fill true—that for those people on Pension Credit, in and sign and send on to the local authority. We eligible and non recipients, the awareness of the learned that somewhere over half of those forms benefit is very high in terms of percentage. One of the never found their way to local authorities, so things we are trying to do more and more in creating customers were not sending them on or something awareness is to be able to say more in the letters of elsewasgoingonandthereforetheyweremissingout. promotion, that typical benefit awards are within this From last month, for example, we now send out range or this threshold, so that is very much part of automatically to the local authority without the our awareness activity. The other activity that customer having to sign anything. through our partners we are hoping to achieve is to increasetheawarenessofthePensionServiceandalso Q12 Greg Mulholland: Are you reasonably confident Disability and Carers Service as well, because that you may be able to reverse the trend? In the 2007 although current levels of awareness are growing, we figures we saw slippage in terms of both the targets to think we can do a lot more with that. get Pension Credit to 2.3 million people and the guarantee to 2.2 million people by 2008. The trend Q15 Chairman: Could I follow up on those people who tell you to go away and stop bothering them. As 1 See Ev 38 far as you are concerned, is that for ever, or do you Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Ev 4 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson come back to them? I am thinking typically of retired regions. We will certainly be looking to take some of people who have savings. Those savings diminish the areas within London in terms of invoking the over time and with the drop in interest rates they strategy that we have just talked about. diminish even faster. Is there a recheck point at Mr Moran: Some of it may be associated with some time? ethnicity. Mr Moran: We have written to some of them six times on that basis,. Q24 Harry Cohen: I am going to come on to that in a minute. Following on from what was said, are you Q16 Chairman: Yes, but that is over a relatively not getting the message across in OAP centres in short period. London? The biggest thing pensioners get is the Mr Moran: I take your point: Do we plan for the Winter Fuel mail-out in recent times. Did they get future? told of the Pension Credit in that mailing? Are you using local councils in London, GLA, and the Mayor? I do recall that at one point your service for Q17 Chairman: Do you follow-up in, say, three years Pension Credit was not based in London. It was in time or five years time? Glasgow, was it not? Mr Moran: Yes, we do. Mr Moran: We do not have a Pension Centre, but we do have a local service centre. Q18 Chairman: Just a one-oV reminder letter to them? Q25 Harry Cohen: We were promised a lot of face- Mr Richardson: Yes, we do. Part of out contact to-face visits when it was moved to Glasgow. What strategy is we would take note of those people who can you tell us about that? I am not sure that is we have not been successful with and then we would happening to the extent it should be. return to them. That is certainly the case in the face- Mr Moran: Understood. There are two things to to-face business as well, in terms of the local service, separate out. One is that the processing of claims where we will go back to group of people at an does not take place in London but a local service anniversary date or something like that. does exist in London, as it does across the whole country. Where we are doing claims and benefits, Q19 Chairman: So you will be keeping watch. where claims are taken locally through local visits, Mr Richardson: Yes. that exists today and has always existed in London, as it does everywhere else. The processing will take place somewhere else in one of the 10 regional Q20 Tom Levitt: Are these take-up and refusal centres that exist. figures available on a constituency level? Mr Richardson: That is a good question. I am not sure. I would have to check. Q26 Harry Cohen: Are you able to give us at some Mr Moran: From the information we have available point some breakdown of this. to us about customers, we know where those largest Mr Moran: Of local service activities? likely unmet need areas are. That is why, in the course of this next year, we will be focusing on 20 Q27 Harry Cohen: Of local service activities. such areas once we have piloted an approach on one Mr Moran: We certainly can, yes. of them. Q28 Harry Cohen: Certainly in London I would like to see that. Q21 Chairman: Perhaps you could send to the 3 Committee that breakdown, such as you have it, Mr Moran: We certainly can. obviously totally anonymised. Mr Moran: Yes. I would be happy to do so.2 Q29 Harry Cohen: The two seem to go together, the low take-up and getting information. Mr Moran: Understood. One of the things you Q22 Harry Cohen: Let us follow that up with some mentioned was about centres, and that is where of specific groups. Londoners. The ICM poll for Age course we want to work in the community with Concern said that one in eight people generally were organisations that represent older people and, unaware of Pension Credit. In London the number indeed, local authorities where appropriate. Lots of is one in five. That is a huge number. partnership agreements about helping bring Mr Moran: It is. awareness better to people’s lives do exist in diVerent ways across all the country, because we encourage Q23 Harry Cohen: Why do you think that number is the particular local service customer manager to so high? negotiate and agree what that partnership for that Mr Moran: Some of the work we are doing also particular area should be. demonstrates why some of the 20 areas are in Mr Richardson: Some examples of some of the London. things we have done. In London, in terms of black Mr Richardson: I think it is something we need to do and ethnic minority groups, the kinds of things, Mr more of in terms of building the awareness much Cohen, that go on, are in terms of the partnerships more of a knowledge of those individual geographic with the local authorities. For example, in Hackney
2 See Evs 34 and 39 3 See Ev 36 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 5
17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson there are information points in Jewish centres. In us about circumstances, so that we can make more Islington, specifically for Pension Credit, there are of an assessment before they come over that Somali lunch clubs. In Edgware they are targeting threshold to become pensioners. We have recognised Asian communities via multicultural groups. In that in terms of their eligibility, that if we could Hendon there are multicultural centres. Also, we recognise that earlier and do it within that contact it have alternative oYces which we make use of. In would be more eYcient for us. Camden there are Cypriot women’s organisations and in Tower Hamlets there is Refugees from Q32 Harry Cohen: There will be people coming up Vietnam, just to give you the kind and variation of to retirement who are now worried. Can you not partnerships that our local service reps in the issue out a public appeal or public statement that communities would look to strike. Going forward, says, “If you are worried and you might be eligible we are trying to put more structure around that, to for Pension Credit, come and see us or arrange an say what are the partnerships that we may be missing appointment.” Could you not be more proactive? that we could take more opportunity with. Mr Moran: We are in a way. Whether or not you feel Ms Hopkins: Perhaps I could share some of the this goes far enough, you will tell me. The current national figures on partnerships. We have 101 practice is that four months before people retire we formal partnerships with local authorities, we have write to them and tell them about what may be Y 510 alternative o ces and 732 information points possible in terms of entitlement to claim their State where people can come to us, so there is a lot of Pension, for example, and other related interests. activity in the community. The things Nigel has But we have been doing that for some time, and in talked about in London are representative of what one part of the country we are piloting suspending happens all over the country, but specifically those written invitations and phoning up customers London with its special needs. who are approaching four months before retirement 4 Mr Moran: We will follow up with the information. age and booking an appointment, on the basis that we may know a little bit more about their potential Q30 Harry Cohen: On the black and ethnic minority eligibility, which may go beyond State Pension and communities, that same survey showed that 42% possibly into Pension Credit, so that we can ensure were disappointed or complaining because it was not we have the right person and then talking to them the right language or there were not suYcient when the appointment is made. As I was mentioning languages to communicate the detail to them. What earlier, one of the problems we have had is that the are you going to do about that? needs of the job at the moment have required almost Mr Moran: Certainly in terms of anybody who needs all of our staV to have all of the knowledge all of the or wants to communicate with us in a language that time, when in fact we ought to specialise a bit of it. is other than English, we can arrange that, and we do Subject to what the evaluation of the pilot tells us, we that through interpreters or Language Line, think at the moment that the evidence is showing us depending upon whether it is face-to-face or over the very positive outcomes, so that might be a way in phone. In communications we have alternative which we will continue to deliver services across the formats too in terms of language. Where customers whole country in future, but that is not yet a are experiencing that, we are perhaps not showing decision. that we respond to it, but certainly if we are aware of it we can definitely respond to it. Q33 Chairman: Are we now back to being able to provide in QuickTime pension forecasts? Where are Q31 Harry Cohen: There is just one more specific we with the dream of combined pension forecasting? group I want to refer to, those about to retire. A poll Mr Moran: Certainly on future pensions for State showed that as well as those of extreme old age, over Pension that is online. You can do that on the phone 80s and whatever, the newly retired were missing out or online. That has been there now for the last three on their Pension Credit that they were eligible to. As months, since the changes to the systems were made. we have an economic downturn in the Stock In terms of combined pension, I am afraid I am not Exchange probably, the people who are about to sure. Does anybody know? I do not think that is in retire, who would have thought they were going to my near view, to be honest, because I am not aware get a lot more, are probably going to get a lot less of it, Chairman. Looking at your face, I think I need than they originally thought. That brings them into to follow up on that, do I not? 5 the eligibility for Pension Credit. What are you Chairman: You do. doing to reach out to them and let them know what they need to do? Q34 Tom Levitt: I have three questions about your Mr Richardson: That particular group is a very relationship with Jobcentre Plus, if I may. We have special group, as you rightly have highlighted. One recently published a report on carers’ needs and one of the things we are looking at there is what we call of the bits of evidence we received was that high our orientation. Rather than have a process whereby quality accurate information about carers’ benefits it comes at us almost by surprise, we are trying to is not always supplied by Jobcentres. Clearly there look at diVerent types of communication on that needs to be a higher awareness by Jobcentre staV of path towards becoming pensioners, so we have a carers’ benefits and maybe others too. What are you chance to engage them early, to ask them to talk to doing to address this?
4 See Ev 38 5 See Ev 38 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Ev 6 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson
Mr Moran: At one level—and we recognise that Q37 Tom Levitt: So it is as new as that. Given the more could be done in that space—I know that reasons that were given for the merger of your two Jobcentre Plus have already taken some steps to agencies into one and what you have just been telling ensure that they are up-skilling their advice in the us about Jobcentre Plus, when can we look to the space of knowing what carer needs may be and how merger of your agency and Jobcentre Plus?— to spot them. As a result, they are accessing routinely perhaps under the Work and Pensions banner! now information that we have on our intranet site Mr Moran: I thought that might be coming. I always that shows them what are the 10 “must knows” hesitate to speculate about the future. We do know about being a carer and how to spot them, so they that we have embarked on a strategy for the are taking positive steps. Inevitably there will be a Department for Work and Pensions which is trying variance of how that is understood over time. One of to build its strategy around customer needs through the things that as a new agency we are about to do life events and experiences that will allow us then to with Jobcentre Plus is review our partnership deliver more eVectively in one go. That is part of agreement that we have with them about the things certainly the reason of this new agency and clearly that we expect to do for each other in support of there is an opportunity to take that further over delivery of services and this will be one of the areas time. Does that mean that we lose the agencies or the that we will particularly ensure that we will cover in brands of the agencies or whatever? I do not know. the partnership agreement and then understand over But I am absolutely fairly confident that we will be time whether those needs that we agree to are joining up more eVectively around those customers actually being met. needs. Whatever boundaries of accountability exist to support that I think is an open question over time, Q35 Tom Levitt: Similarly—and this may be the because over the next five years anything could same sort of question in fact—an analysis has been happen in that space, but we are clear about being done of the DLA claims which are turned down and focused around the customers’ needs. it has found that a disproportionately high number of those appear to have come from Jobcentre Q38 Tom Levitt: Clearly the philosophy is now more sources. Is that the same sort of thing happening strongly that no one should be allowed to stray too there as well? far from the labour market. Mr Moran: It is. For members of staV in any part of Mr Moran: Indeed. the Department, this is a very complex social security system. To have the full knowledge that everybody may need to give absolutely the right Q39 Tom Levitt: That is inherent in your strategy as advice every time I think is a very high demand, but well as choice. we should continue to pursue it. To help staV and, Mr Moran: Indeed. indeed, members of the public, there is a benefit adviser on the internet. It takes you through some Q40 Miss Begg: I would like to pick up the point quite simple questions about your background, your Tom has asserted and ask a few questions on circumstances, and for a range of, I think, 27 V Disability Living Allowance and specifically on the di erent benefits it can give you a likely outcome of take-up. The advice from Jobcentre Plus with regard potential need. Over time I expect us and not just the V to eligibility for DLA is maybe quite poor because public to be accessing that more e ectively and Jobcentre Plus staV look at DLA as an added systematically, so that when we have a customer sat income for those who are out of work and therefore before us we can be sure that we are not thinking are saying to people, “You can bump your income because of our limited knowledge of DLA that this up by qualifying for DLA.” Particularly if someone person may be entitled and then raise expectations has a mental health problem, I am wondering if you only for those to be dashed. It is one of the areas we have done any work to see whether DLA is an are particularly concerned about, because we do not appropriate benefit for them. I suppose I should want to have to do the work, quite honestly, and so declare that I am eligible for higher rate mobility the more that we can identify upstream why V DLA myself. The basic misunderstanding about nugatory e orts and claims are being generated is DLA is that it is not an income replacement, it is not something that we are currently doing quite a big an out-of-work benefit, and that maybe causes piece of work on to understand. The Jobcentre Plus problems now that you have merged with the referrals are one of those areas. Pension Service and you are not dealing with people generally who are in work as much as Jobcentre Plus Q36 Tom Levitt: One gets the impression from the was. Also, qualification for DLA does not come figures that Jobcentre advice on DLA may be of a because someone has a particular disability or lower quality than welfare rights organisations and impairment but because of the eVect it has on their the Citizens Advice Bureau, for example. life. Is DLA the right benefit for someone, say, with Mr Moran: I think some of the evidence may suggest mental health problems? They fear that if they go that and I think it is as a result of the work we will into work they are going to lose their DLA. We want to do with Jobcentre Plus. Indeed, now that know that it is an in-work benefit, but if you have a there is a very real and very eVective tool available mental health problem it is probable that you will sat on everybody’s desk that can be accessed, I think lose DLA because you no longer fit the criteria of it that will help us a lot better. Only in the last three having an eVect on your ability to carry out your life months have we got that very eVective tool. functions without extra financial support. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 7
17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson
Mr Moran: I think the invitation to answer invites Mr Moran: I do not know whether it is low or not. me to stray into a bit of policy about it, and We do know that ever since we have introduced obviously that is not my area of specific interest. We DLA it has grown successfully every year. We know tried, with the policy that exists today, to ensure that that we are refusing half of all claims. If I just think those who have eligibility can receive it at the right about those two facts, it does not feel like there is no time and do not receive it when they are not entitled knowledge out there about take-up not being taken. to it. The issues around in work/out of work I think In certain cases in mental health and, indeed, in is and has been, ever since DLA came in, a problem relation to children’s disability, we know that there for us all. Consistent with the anecdote is that if are issues certainly of knowledge and understanding anybody phones up to say that they are starting that as an agency we want to do something about. work, we tell them, “Then that’s it, DLA is over.” In The Committee will also know that, unlike Pension fact, it is not a reportable change of circumstance in Credit, we do not have a specific target for take-up. all the information that we send but everybody does Pension Credit is the only benefit that we have as a feel they have to report it. In a way, I understand target. Our role and responsibility around DLA, for that. Do I think it is suitable for mental health cases? example, is ensuring that, where we can, we ensure I do not know if I have an answer either way, to be that people have knowledge of it, that access to honest Miss Begg. claiming it is as easy as possible, and that we do that Ms Hopkins: I think that is an unanswerable as eVectively as possible. That is our role in that but question for us. It is a fact that an increasing we do not have a take-up as such. proportion of people who claim DLA will have mental illness as part of their group of disabilities. Q45 Miss Begg: Do you find that people only find As high as 70% will now declare that there are some out about DLA when they come in contact with the mental health problems as well as whatever other benefits system. disabilities they have. Mr Moran: They do.
Q41 Miss Begg: I realise this is a policy area, but Q46 Miss Begg: Because a lot who qualify have no obviously it is working against some of the relationship with the benefits system because they Government’s other target, which is to get people are in work or a child or whatever. involved in work-related activity. So long as the Mr Moran: Indeed. That is very true. eligibility criteria are based on the eVects of the disability and not on the disability itself, then if you Q47 Miss Begg: It is only when they present that are in a wheelchair you cannot disguise that, if you they discover they could have been claiming it for the are blind you cannot disguise that, and whether you last 10 years. are in or out of work it is not going to change, but the Mr Moran: That is very true. As I was mentioning whole nature of mental health—and I am separating earlier, we know as a result of broadening the focus mental health from learning disability which does of local service that, instead of looking at whether not change—means that if someone is engaged and there is a Pension Credit need and being focused on is in work, they probably are much better, and the that, and then moving to the next one with a Pension V e ect of their disability is not so great on them. That Credit need, by taking these holistic benefit checks is partly where the public perception is that if you are we are identifying more unmet need, particularly for going into work you are going to lose all your attendance allowance for older people, whose benefits. disability or ability to cope with their disability or Mr Moran: I understand. chronic illness over time has deteriorated but over such a long period of time that there has not been a Q42 Miss Begg: Because it does happen because they meaningful point that anybody could identify. So are better and they no longer fit the criteria. there is inevitably unmet need on that basis. Mr Moran: Therefore, under the existing Mr Richardson: I wanted to emphasise two points. arrangements that must be what must happen. One is the importance of partnership strategy in this, Whether or not there is a case to consider changing so that we do increase awareness of those benefits at those arrangements, the extent to which the recent the point when the customer will actually need them published White Paper will want to look at this and what those benefits are all about. As Terry quite broader space is something that I think colleagues rightly said, we have found in terms of benefit take- will be more interested in in terms of the future up, irrespective of whether it is Pension Credit or direction of Working Age Benefits and whether or Disability Benefit, they work very well in not we move down the path of a single benefit and combination. In terms of take up of Pension Credit, what other additions to that may over time come in. for example, it is often when it is linked to a need that That is one of the core issues within the White Paper. is in a disability space that we have some of the most eVective take up of Pension Credit. They are almost interlinked, then, in a lot of respects. Certainly Q43 Miss Begg: In the meantime, which is not a through our local service teams, very often when policy area, the take-up of DLA is still very low. they do an assessment of their overall need you could Mr Moran: Yes. end up with a multiple benefit entitlement. The whole approach is about increasing the awareness of Q44 Miss Begg: What are you doing to improve those benefits at those points of detection, but then that? to have a proposition that tries to link them. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Ev 8 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson
Q48 Miss Begg: Do you keep a watching brief, then, gap. What are you doing specifically to improve over policy changes elsewhere? I will give you a knowledge amongst families with disabled children specific example. In Scotland, the Scottish that they now qualify for DLA? Executive—or I think we have to call it the Scottish Mr Moran: We have been doing quite a bit of work, Government nowadays—changed the eligibility not just as a result of the new agency but before that criteria for their bus passes. People who had physical with the Department of Health, to understand how and learning disabilities often would get a bus pass, it is we can best help parents of disabled children to in the same way as there was a pensioner bus pass, know what might exist out there. That is partly in the to give them either free bus travel or reduced-rate space of increasing prescription space. It is also travel. That eligibility criteria was changed, so that partly about the work we can do locally with trusts the only people who could get the bus pass were and GPs, particularly about information being those who were on upper rate DLA. A man came in readily available. But it is a challenge for us. to see me because he had lost his bus pass. He was Mr Richardson: The only thing I would add is that born with cerebral palsy, had always worked, had we are piloting a new flyer or leaflet around the always struggled around, but because he was getting children’s situation, but it is very early days for that. a bit old, he was slightly less stable on his feet, and It is a separate pilot. he was struggling to work. I took one look at him and said, “But surely you qualify for upper rate mobility DLA.” He did not know, because he had Q52 Miss Begg: I know the ultimate decision will be always had his bus pass. It was a success: he applied a political one, but there is a campaign for those who and he has got it now—in fact he has got a lot more are blind and partially sighted to have the upper rate money than he had with his bus pass and a lot more mobility DLA. I have been campaigning for this flexibility. But this was someone who was struggling myself. If the Government were to change its mind, to be kept in work because his bus pass was about to is there anything from your side which would make be taken away from him, someone who is able to it diYcult to administer? In other words, would it work and carry on. The DLA is a good benefit. make it diYcult to apply the criteria, or are you Mr Moran: Indeed. happy from your side that if the Government says, “Yes, go ahead,” you can find criteria that will be Q49 Miss Begg: There is an example of a specific fair? policy change that may have happened elsewhere in Ms Hopkins: I think deciding the criteria would be the country and be aVecting people. He had the sense something that our policy people would work on. to come and see me—but how many others have just Could we apply it? Yes, we have the capacity. We lost their bus passes and say, “Oh, well, I don’t would need to up-skill our decision-makers again, to qualify for my bus pass”?—even though he is now make sure all our checking and everything follows obviously more disabled than he was a few years through. But ultimately the design of the criteria is ago. outside our remit. Mr Moran: It is a good example about where that Mr Moran: The simpler it is, the better we will problem can exist. I do not know that I have a single welcome it, if I could put it like that. The clearer and solution for that. Clearly the work that we do with less ambiguous any criteria is, the easier it is for us organisations that support older and/or disabled to ensure that our staV understand that as well as people is something about ensuring that the they need to and we need to, and that we get the information needs are passed on, and not just better chance of getting it right first time. When it is dealing with what support can be done in terms of ambiguous and then leaves discretion—and then medical or other sense. there is judgment brought in which then means it could be reinterpreted at several stages in appeal, for example—that is a less attractive outcome. But if it Q50 Miss Begg: Presumably the Scottish Executive is a very straightforward set of criteria, it will be a must have a list of those who qualified for a bus pass better place for the administration of it to be. last year and do not qualify for a bus pass last year. Ms Hopkins: Increasingly we are thinking about The letters that were going out were purely from the Scottish Executive, which does not have the specialising decision making, because we have responsibility for benefits, so there was nothing in recognised over the years that the generic training those letters to say, “But you might qualify for and the generic approach is not always appropriate. income support.” We are very specifically at the moment looking at Mr Moran: I would like to follow that up, if I may, children, where the cases tend to be quite complex, Miss Begg, to see to what extent there is an and mental health cases, where the decision making opportunity for us to work with that information, to can be quite complex. If there is ambiguity around know whether or not there is more we could do. I will the criteria, that might be another area. I would look certainly follow that up.6 very closely at that and decide whether I needed specialised decision-makers to make those decisions, but we will not know until and if we get them. Q51 Miss Begg: The other thing is about the DLA and children. Obviously the eligibility criteria have widened for children but again it is the knowledge Q53 Chairman: On this issue—and of course it is not blindness but partial sightedness which is the area 6 See Ev 38 where the biggest problem will be—at what Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 9
17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson percentage of loss of sight would you automatically we could continue to sustain easily. We have stepped qualify? Do you have any figures on how many back, taken a review, involved a lot of people and, partially sighted people are already getting it? indeed, consulted quite widely with our staV, to say, Ms Hopkins: The disability coding that we have been “What do you think?” and we have looked at all of using up until now does not enable us to have that those thoughts. We believe we have to move away level of detail. We have just changed to the IC-10 from the model that is currently planned. We will be code, so we will in future. We do not at the moment saying more about that and about how we ensure have that kind of information written down. that is done in more manageable chunks early next year, but I suspect it will be, I hope, from my Q54 Chairman: It is the case that an awful lot of understanding of what staV have said so far, one that partially sighted people do get it, it is just that they they will welcome rather than feel unhappy about. are not automatically entitled to it. Mr Moran: Indeed. Again, we will follow that up, Q58 Mrs Humble: I think we are going to have to just in case there is something more positive we can wait for your announcement, because I do not want say.7 to press you any further if all you are going to say to me is, “I can’t say anything.” Q55 Mrs Humble: I would like to ask you some Mr Moran: It is not designed to do that, it is just that questions about staV. As you are well aware, many we are going through a consultation process right of your staV are my constituents in Blackpool. now on the proposals. Mr Moran: Indeed. Q59 Mrs Humble: Can I move on to another issue Q56 Mrs Humble: Perhaps we could start oV with and that is your sickness targets. You are missing how they do their work. The Pension Service had its sickness targets by quite an amount. Why? transformation programme begin in 2002. New IT Mr Moran: The why is always diYcult to answer, systems are being introduced, but we have a mixture but we are seeing now, in the former Pension Service, of the old legacy systems, new IT systems, some six successive months of improvement, and in the paper-based processes, and, as I understand it, you former DCS, 11 successive months of improvement. have undertaken a review of this whole area. We It is the best achievement of the three agencies in the have had some concerns expressed to us by members Department—if I can refer to CMEC as an agency of staV about the new IT systems. I just wonder of the Department still. In terms of Jobcentre Plus, where you are with your review, where you want to ourselves, and CMEC, we are better in what we are go with how your staV have delivered the service. achieving at the moment. I think we are doing that Mr Moran: I will repeat a little bit of what I said at because we are engaging with our people much the beginning, which is that because we have not better. I know that some people would say—indeed announced the outcome of the review I really do not the unions have said this several times to me—that it want this to be the public announcement. is because we are bullying, through managers, people back to work. I genuinely do not accept that, Q57 Mrs Humble: I was trying to trip you up there! because I think all of us are ordinary caring people Mr Moran: I will gladly talk about the issues that we and we would not want to put someone in that have identified. As far as the IT is concerned, I note awkward place. When this has been said, I have that there has been some concern about the IT, but asked for individual cases to be brought to me, or from our perspective, the IT that is there, the new Vivien has, that we can investigate and look at—and Customer Account Management (CAM) that was I genuinely would—but those have not been put in for agents to use dealing with customers on the forthcoming. We have a problem on attendance but telephone in the former Pension Service, is good. It we know it is now on what we call the “path of allows us to talk about the job roles that we want to improvement” to the target of 8.2 days that we need create. The job role that had been created was one of to achieve in the next year. I will pause there, because expecting, whether it was State Pension, Pension you may not accept all of that, and I understand Credit, whether it was a complex case or a simple that. case, whether it had to be dealt with on the phone or subsequently by PIN code, that you would be the Q60 Mrs Humble: I accept that there is a very person who would deal with it all. We have found diYcult balance for you, because quite properly any that to be too demanding. StaV have said that very eYciently run organisation wants to reduce the level significantly to me on a number of visits and in of sickness absence but how you do that could cause discussions. Our accuracy and all of that tends to distress to some staV who feel that their illness or support that. When we are taking 20 weeks to get disability has not been properly taken into account. somebody to a productive level and then it is still not You asked about individual cases. I have given fully accurate, that is in any measure a very, very individual cases to ministers over the past year. demanding role and not one that, even if we could There is one particular area with regard to sickness achieve it, we could legitimately sustain over time, absence that has been raised directly with me and given that turnover happens. The idea that we would that is those people who are registered or able to be wait nearly six months for another new member of registered under the DDA. In the past, certainly the staV to be productive is not something that I think Disability and Carers Service had a very generous sickness allowance for them. I cannot remember the 7 See Ev 38 exact number but it was something like about 30 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Ev 10 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson days that they were allowed to have oV before Ms Hopkins: I think that sometimes happens, that anybody really questioned why they were having it there has been a referral to the Occupational Health oV. You have now withdrawn that more generous Service, when we come to an agreement. I want my allowance and instead are looking at it, as I staV to be at work when they are well enough to be understand, on an individual basis, looking at the at work. When they are really not well enough, I do individual disability or illness and saying, “Given not want them there. When they have more chronic that you are likely to need x number of days.” or serious conditions and they want to return to Mr Moran: Sure. work, we are trying to work with them, very often working with the TU—and we have had some success with it as well—and with the health V Q61 Mrs Humble: However, for many of the sta , providers to get an agreement so that we can get they feel that you are chasing them and not treating them back to work. We make a large number of them fairly. What reassurances can you give us that adjustments every year to working conditions so you are trying to achieve that balance between that people can come back when they are able to. In Y maintaining the e ciency of the organisation and at the last few months I think we have got rather better V the same time understanding that some of your sta , at that. We do still get cases that do not go as well as because of their particular circumstances, may they should for a variety of reasons. When those are exceed your eight days? drawn to my attention, just as when they are drawn Mr Moran: I do think we do try to do that. It may to Terry’s, I intervene personally, but increasingly be that my memory is failing me about the 30 days— we are using a case conference approach and we have Vivien may correct me or it may have preceded my seen success from it. The number of people currently time in DCS—but I have always wanted to work on oV work and waiting for an adjustment to enable the basis of reaching an individual assessment of a them to come back is now only three, for example, person’s needs in terms of time out, if it is above so we are making progress. We recognise that this is what we would expect. When we talk about a very sophisticated subject. You cannot tackle long- maintaining eYciency, I would rather it be framed as term absence in a simple or single way. You have to maintaining customer service. Having fewer people look at each case individually and that is what we do. in work has an inevitable impact on the service that The statistic I am most pleased to see improvement we oVer. I do think it is a balance, you are right. It is in all our staV who work in call centres, where a balance between rights and responsibilities for typically there is a higher than average level of anybody. We have a reasonable right to proceed absence. That is coming down rather well in most of with questions about absences and we have a our centres, so I am pleased about that. I think we reasonable expectation that the person would turn are making progress. up when they can, and the individual has a reasonable expectation and right that we will do that meaningfully, caringly and in a reasonable way. I Q63 Mrs Humble: Can I pick up on your reference to think in the vast majority of cases we must be doing occupational health. There was a very, very diYcult that. In terms of staV engagement and how people time with the previous provider. You now have a are feeling in work, we do not have the greatest track new provider. Are things better? Again, I have had record in public service in terms of people feeling so many cases of people who have had to wait proud or happy to be in work, but the underlying months, six months, for an assessment. Is that evidence on the quarterly surveys that we are doing occupational health provider now improving the is that it is heading in the right direction and systems? Are your management linked into improving. If we were doing something so overtly supporting that provider? Again, sometimes when, wrong or uncaring in the way that some may suggest for example, desk adaptations are introduced to help we are, I do not think that would be the trend. We somebody, there is no follow-up to ensure that that are seeing the trend start improving as a result of the adaptation is doing the job it is supposed to. engagement and our handling of things, and I just do Ms Hopkins: You are quite right, there was a not recognise it as a very big issue. Where and if we problem with the form of contractor which is why get it wrong—and I suspect inevitably we do DWP backed out of the contract. That meant that V sometimes, and I have seen some poor cases—I have there were arrears, e ectively. There were a lot of intervened where it has been brought to my cases waiting to be looked at and the current V attention, on the basis that I am not quite sure we contractor has dealt very e ectively with those. have done what we should have done—like any There are very few cases outstanding for any length colleague would. But I do not think it is systematic of time now. As I have said, we have just three. In in the way that some would seem to present it, that terms of the adjustments, you are quite right that the we are on the wrong side of that balance. follow up has not always been as consistent as it Ms Hopkins: First of all, I am afraid I do not should have been. One of the things in which we have recognise the 30-day provision. invested—we started in the disability and carers space in the old agency and we are moving across— is what we call DPOs, Disabled Persons’ OYcers, Q62 Mrs Humble: Thirty days might be wrong, but within each unit, working at local level and working I do remember at the beginning of the year—I have with the suppliers and with our HR people to make had at least half a dozen letters on this issue just in sure that things are working, that the first thing the last few months—that there was a much higher happens soon enough, that we have got better than allocation than the target sickness level. that, and that we do then check that what has been Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 11
17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson provided is appropriate and does not need further what the absolutes say on the top of the tin, are all adaptations. It is still an area where we can and we pointing in the right direction. We believe that is a will get better though. trend that we can sustain rather than it be one that Mrs Humble: Thank you. we expect to be problematic. I do think, as a result Chairman: In relation to the Disabled Persons’ of that, the pressures that staV have felt under as a OYcers, of course a lot of disability is self-declared result of what we see in the outcome of the review on and if it is not declared you do not know. I am not the Pension Service side, for example, will mean that asking you for a magical answer but I am just asking we allow staV to be given the best possible chance of you to have that in the back of your mind for future doing the job that they want to do, which is to serve reference. the customer better, which means that it will also be productive/accurate first time. Ms Hopkins: As Chief Operating OYcer, I can tell Q64 John Howell: I would like to pick up on a you that I have not made achieving the headcount number of other targets and performance issues. Looking through it, it seems to be that there are a my prioritised target. It is a target which we all need number of targets that have either not been met or to achieve. I take my life in my hands, sitting next to have slipped back. On the pension side, that tends to Terry, in saying this, but it is not my top priority. My relate to claims processing and claims accuracy and top priority is to deliver the right service to our on the disability side to customer satisfaction and customers. That is what we are focused on. We have Y some issues around tribunals and appeals. Of di culties with recruiting in some areas. We have course, one of the targets that you are meeting is quite high turnover in some of our centres. It is your headcount reduction. Are you prioritising the easing a bit now, for obvious reasons, but we are headcount reduction? Is the headcount reduction constantly recruiting to keep the numbers up. There leading to the problems that we are seeing in those is this constant issue, if you like, where you are targets that you are not meeting? recruiting and training, and Terry mentioned in the Mr Moran: I understand where you are coming pension space, in particular, the model that we were from. When we look at our overall performance, operating which brought with it a very heavy certainly this time last year we were, in the former training demand. Whilst you are training people, Pension Service, struggling. The summer was a bad they are not as productive as you want them to be. summer and it took us a while to deal with it. On the My strategy, since the formation of the new agency, former DCS side, more stable. I will just give you has been quite simple. The first thing was to drive some headlines overall and then I will come back to down the amount of work on hand, not backlogs, as more detail. I think we shared with you 19 targets such, but work available, work where there is some that we have been measured against, 10 of which action in progress and we should be clearing it. Over have been fully met, year to date. Of the eight that the past six months you will see that in many cases it are not being met, four are currently now being met, has halved in relation to State Pension and Pension in month, and so are back on track. The remaining Credit, and it is well below the internal tolerance four are showing positive trends to achieve the level that I set for DLA, AA and CA. Perversely, target. All of our underlying metrics are moving in that aVects the average clearance time target: the right direction. Are the problems that we have because it is an average target, it sometime works because we did not prioritise the staYng well against you when you have low levels of work on enough? I do not think it is that. One of the reasons hand. The reason for doing that was that I wanted for major disruptions, certainly in the Pension the people who work for us to feel better, to feel that Service side, was that we were implementing the first what they could do was manageable. I had a whole significant wave of the new model of operating last load of strategies for doing that and, thankfully, summer and that led to a considerable number of they have paid oV. Also, because what we have issues. We undertook a fairly rigorous lessons demonstrated is that despite the headcount target we learned exercise to understand what went wrong and have capacity. If you look at our work on hand at the why, and we are now recovering from that. We have moment and our results, they are showing that we do slowed down that deployment because we started have some capacity. I am recycling that capacity into understanding that we were asking too much of our the accuracy agenda. Accuracy is my highest priority staV. On the accuracy of payment, we have a and the highest priority for my staV, and it is a very longstanding problem. This is our most significant welcome message for them as well. It is what they challenge today. For State Pension, for example, it want to hear. I have been using the capacity created has only been met once for the last six years. For by reducing the amount of work outstanding to up- Pension Credit it was met only once, in the very first skill staV, to give them much more technical training year it was introduced, 2002–03, and has declined and to focus on the top causes of error in Pension ever since in terms of overall quality of decision, Credit, for example, so each centre has a proper except for last year, where we started, as a result of plan, there are proper measures, there is V the e orts we were making, to improve it. On State accountability, there is recognition for improvement Pension we think we are absolutely within a shout of and all the rest of it. possibly ending the year with it being met. On Pension Credit we saw it met for the first time last month. The position I would invite the Committee Q65 John Howell: I think you have partly answered to observe is that we have had our problems, but the the next question I was going to ask, which was underlying metrics that we are tracking, beyond about how you prioritise your targets. You have said Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Ev 12 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson accuracy is your main priority there. I wonder if you Can you say a bit more about that and what the would just like to say a bit more about how that implications of that would be for your ability to prioritisation takes place. cut costs? Ms Hopkins: It is very simple really. I plan Mr Moran: At one level as an agency, the assessment constantly, and the prioritisation comes from we have carried out so far on the economic working out, I suppose, what is important to downturn suggests minimal impacts on the forecast customers and what is important to the Department, that we are talking about. Those could be wrong of set in the context of an eYciency agenda which is course, but it is minimal. The biggest impact for us— also quite demanding. I see all the things being and I think it is the Department at its best—is that interwoven. It is not diYcult for me to sit down and the Department is looking at what support it can think that if we get everything that we do right first give to Jobcentre Plus whose work of course is rising time, that supports the eYciency agenda, because of very dramatically. This Agency is committed from course it is much cheaper, and it makes my staV feel January to releasing 200 people—100 volunteers better, so it supports the engagement agenda. It from around the country and 100 people in one of means, first and foremost, we are delivering a better our pension centres—where they will support service to customers. If they are getting the right Jobcentre Plus during what we expect to be a fairly outcome first time, the chances are they will also get pressurised time as a result of the economy and of it more quickly. That enables us to think about what course the seasonal impact of work that will flow as a else we can do as well. It is a fairly simple result of jobs being lost post the Christmas and New philosophy. I do not have to sit down and work it Year issues. That is why we are now looking at how out a lot. I keep it under constant review, so that we absorb those. We have volunteered those each month I am just checking that we are attending numbers; we have not been asked to deliver those to those priority areas, and then anything else that numbers and those are the numbers we have volunteered because we believe that we can absorb bubbles up, because things come up that you then the impact for a period of three months, which is have to attend to. I hope I am answering your what the agreement is, during their most diYcult question. time. That is the biggest issue we are facing as a result of the economic downturn. Q66 John Howell: Yes, I think you are, but with even 19 targets it is still quite a lot. What are the top three? Q68 John Howell: And future cost cutting? Ms Hopkins: I suppose I do not distinguish between Mr Moran: We already have our planned staYng them because they are all targets, but for me the top reductions scored between now and the end of priority to achieve is to get up to speed on the targets 2010–11, so that overall in the period of the spending that are stretching us and that we are not quite review will be another 3,000 less for the joint meeting yet. That is nearly all in the accuracy space. Agency. As a result of the economic downturn, I For me, the top priority is to get that accuracy. That think that colleagues will know that there is a 1.5% is where we get the biggest pay oV for everybody. additional eYciency requirement in year three of Mr Moran: There is no doubt that all the evidence that spending review and at the moment everybody shows us—those who have been around these types is expected to absorb that and we think that we can of services for many years—that the more you do by the time that comes up on the basis of the work right first time, the less work you generate. It is a that we are doing today. pretty factual but obvious statement. There is a tendency and a pressure at times for people—and I Q69 Chairman: I would like to pick up on one target. understand why—to move the case and the claim The cases to tribunal, no more than 45% to be very quickly because there is another one waiting. overturned. Whenever this is raised, the standard The very strong message that I try to give everybody response—and I do not mean to be pejorative—is, is that, in the end, if we have to show that we are not well, they always present more evidence at the hitting the clearance time targets because we are tribunal than the decision maker had. Certainly a focusing on a quality agenda, I absolutely have the couple of years ago, it was the policy that nobody confidence in knowing that once you get the quality from the Department attended the tribunal and, to agenda right the clearance times come back and up. me, that makes your chances of winning extremely The target about which I feel least comfortable diYcult. Is that still the policy? talking to this Committee is of failing on quality, Mr Moran: If I get this wrong, Vivien will no doubt because, in the end, we are not doing what we correct me, but I think that the policy is that we should. We can meet all the clearance time targets by attend one in 10 and we attend one in 10 on the basis rushing it through—that is the easiest thing to do in of the more complex. When we undertook a pilot the world—but it is quality of the decision and the exercise in the former DCS as to what was the impact service that we oVer is paramount and when we get of having a presenting oYcer there or not, that better we start to see all the other things fall surprisingly—and I think that it is surprising—there V into play. was very little di erence in the overall outcomes about having a physical presence there representing the Agency at all, which surprised us all, to be Q67 John Howell: If you look to the future now, you perfectly honest, on the basis that, if it was going to have already said, I think, that the impact of the make a dramatic diVerence, then there was a case to economic downturn is likely to aVect your resources. be made as to whether we should be deploying more Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 13
17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson people on it and therefore there was the resource Q74 Miss Begg: I have a question on the Pension issue. However, the evidence did not support that Service customer service but I also have a question view at all. There is clearly a factor where, when new that I meant to ask when I was asking my earlier evidence is presented to the Tribunal, it is additional questions on DLA and also the relationship that you and therefore it can have an impact. Certainly what have with the Jobcentre Plus on an individual case we have seen over I think the period of the lifetime basis where a decision that is taken by your service of DCS—and I am just looking at the numbers—the particularly on eligibility for DLA may impact on award rates overall got worse. We allowed fewer the way in which the individual is treated when they cases. In 2004, it was 49.8% of all decisions being then come in front of Jobcentre Plus and I will give made and, in 2008, it was 45.6%. Disputes obviously a constituency specific example. A woman with arose on that basis but very marginally: 23.3% to epilepsy who I think was on middle rate DLA care 24.9%. DLA cases that went to tribunals were 82,000 but, when reassessed, that was removed from her. in 2004 down to 70,000 in 2008. The reason why was She was also on income support and, when she went that we looked at each of those decisions much more back to Jobcentre Plus, not only was she losing her carefully. When it came to what was the overturn DLA which was quite a percentage of her income rate then of those cases that finally arrived there, it but she was no longer receiving any disability was lower because we had actually scrutinised each benefit. Therefore, the disability premium on her initial decision and 48% were overturned in 2004 and income support was about to be cut, so she was 43% in 2008. So, there is a trend there which suggests finding that her income was cut in half and because that there is better quality decision making that was she was no longer on disability benefit but now on also reviewed at the appropriate stage before letting income support, she was not going to go through it go to appeal, but we still see a very high turnover any of the pathways to work and things which might rate because these are judgments that called on the have helped her as a disabled person. She still has evidence that is before us and sometimes it is new epilepsy—it may be better controlled—but she no evidence. longer hits any of the thresholds to qualify for the disability benefit. Does your Agency on that Q70 Chairman: I understand that. Absolutely, the individual’s behalf actually almost put a case to quality agenda if the decision is right in the first Jobcentre Plus and those dealing with the benefits to place. I think that it is only about 4% of decisions say, “This person has this history” and therefore not ever go to a tribunal anyway. argue that she necessarily gets a disability premium Mr Moran: Yes. on income support but certainly in terms of job search and everything, she should be tagged V Q71 Chairman: It is not the case that 50% of di erently from someone who is middle aged and decisions are getting overturned. out of work? Mr Moran: Indeed. Mr Moran: No, we do not.
Q72 Chairman: I am surprised at what you say about Q75 Miss Begg: Should you? your internal evidence on representation in that Mr Moran: That is one of the things that, as the new there is a great deal of evidence that, when a claimant Agency, as we start looking at how our partnership is represented, the chances of winning goes up 300 work with Jobcentre Plus should be better, certainly to 400%. in the space of joining up around the customers, as Mr Moran: Yes. we were talking about earlier, that is one of the classic areas where we want to find ways in which we Q73 Chairman: I am amazed that the reverse is true can be supportive because one of my lessons from for yourselves. I do not want to make an issue of it. being the Chief Executive of DCS that over time I I just think that it is something you need to bear in regret we did not make the progress on is actually mind. being supportive of Jobcentre Plus where we have a Mr Moran: We were genuinely surprised but I am shared customer who may or may not be in a space going to check. How long ago was that review? of either coming from work or going to work and the Ms Hopkins: That was over a year ago. One of the impact DLA and all of that may be having. We did pieces of work we are doing at the moment is that we not make the progress that in the end I think we are looking at which cases we should best present ought to have and should have made and that is because there is a definition of complex cases and therefore something I want us to try and do better what we are finding, when we actually had a look at this time. it, was that those defined as complex were not Y necessarily the ones where a presenting o cer would Q76 Miss Begg: She cannot understand suddenly add the greatest value. We are still looking at the why her income has just disappeared. moment as part of our whole quality initiative at the Mr Moran: I understand that. ones where we really need to field somebody for and that work is ongoing, so it is still a live issue for us. I am very anxious that we should get someone to the Q77 Miss Begg: And she still has the underlying Tribunal when it really would add value for medical condition. The question I was going to ask ourselves and for the customer and it is deciding is with regard to the Pension Service customer when that is. service. We have heard that some of your call centres Chairman: I will watch this space. are struggling with complicated cases but Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Ev 14 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson particularly where there is benefits interaction and Mr Moran: Repeat calls. fluctuating earnings. What are you doing to tackle this complex business? Ms Hopkins: I think it is a fact that some of them Q80 Miss Begg: If people have fluctuating were struggling with some of the complexity and conditions, a delay makes that even worse because, Terry has already talked about the review of the by the time you have caught up with them, their operating model which we have not yet announced, conditions have changed again and the situation but one of the things that we are trying to do is to may become even more complex if you are not Y design the complexity out by deciding that we will e cient. handle calls diVerently. In other words, the aim will Mr Moran: Yes. be that rather than trying to do everything with one person, we try to do it all in one call which might Q81 Mrs Humble: I have a few final questions on involve passing someone on to someone who is more Carers Allowance and fraud and error. The expert in a particular aspect. That is the philosophy. Committee, as you heard earlier, carried out a In general, some of the issues around call centre detailed inquiry into carers and we looked especially performance were to do with volumes of calls which at the Carers Allowance. Carers Allowance is similar in turn was to do with the volume of work. Having to DLA in the sense that it is self-reporting. So, as driven down the volume of work, the volume of calls earlier with the questions on DLA, it is very diYcult is coming down correspondingly, which gives each to assess levels of take-up and what they ought to be, person a little more time and sometimes that is all it is a similar problem for the Carers Allowance. It that is needed as well. The whole programme of may well be that there are people out there who upskilling people, giving them better skills and should be claiming Carers Allowance who are not giving them more capacity to do the job and having and, as our report identified, some of them do not see an operating model which supports that is what I themselves as carers with a capital C. What are you think is going to make the diVerence over the next doing to address that? year or so. Mr Moran: I think that the biggest single thing we have done—and to what extent it is successful I am Q78 Miss Begg: Will that be faster because we have not entirely sure—is that three years ago in the DCS also heard complaints about delays? Within as was, in every award letter for attendance customer services, around 37% of dissatisfied allowance or DLA care that was awarded we customers were unhappy about delays on sorting out signposted to that person, “If you have a carer, problems. Will that take care of all of those delays or please, pass them this letter because they may be are there other reasons for delays? entitled to Carers Allowance”. So, each time we Ms Hopkins: Clearly, that is the plan. Sometimes made a new award or renewal award, it signposted delay is caused by the need to gather further to whoever was receiving that letter to bring it to the evidence. Complex cases sometimes take longer and attention of the person who may be providing that is regardless of which benefit you are talking primary care so that they can then make inquiries about. Delays as a result of us not getting round to about Carers Allowance. For every time that we it I believe—and I have to believe—will increasingly made that award to signal that I think is the most be a feature of the past and not the future because, positive thing that we could do and have sustained with keeping the work available low and ensuring doing. that each action that needs to be taken is taken at the earliest point and having a skilled workforce which is properly targeted in a specialised way when it Q82 Mrs Humble: Worryingly, the other side of the needs to be should all add up to ensure that we issue is the level of fraud for Carers Allowance provide a better, faster and more accurate service. because that is estimated at 3.9% which is a lot There will always be the odd one that slips through higher than the other benefits. Do you have any the net unfortunately. idea why? Mr Moran: It is just where there is a sharing of the Mr Moran: I suspect—and it is a long time since metric because one of the memoranda that you have there has been a review of Carers Allowance and we from PCS talks about 147,000 items of pension will be considering early next year alongside other credits change as work outstanding in April. That is options whether or not Carers Allowance should 71,000 at the end of November as a result of the have a data review because that data is based on progress that has been made in the intervening information which is now more than 10 years old— months. Inevitably when you do not have that level that it is possible that some of that is around where of activity outstanding or waiting to be actioned, earnings change, hours of work change and those you have less activity coming through on your things where perhaps they have not been reported in phones because there is not a need to chase it. So, we the way that they should. Because it is such old are in a much better place than we were even six evidence in estimate terms, I do not know whether it months ago. is reliable or not and, as I have said, next year we are looking at whether or not Carers Allowance should be the subject of a benefit review that we have done Q79 Miss Begg: The point that the PCS makes is that for other benefits but not for Carers Allowance for you get more up to date— over 10 years. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:39:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG1
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 15
17 December 2008 Mr Terry Moran, Ms Vivien Hopkins and Mr Nigel Richardson
Q83 Mrs Humble: Finally, the oYcial error for by what is happening because I can see a real Pension Credit is 2.6% which is a lot higher than any improving trend and I am committed to the level and other benefit. None of them oYcially approaches the appropriateness of the activity and I know that 2%, the overall majority in fact; it is under 1% for when we implement our new model that will make a most of them. Why such a high level of oYcial error diVerence. That is about getting it right now. The for pension credit and is there anything that you can other issue is about what is already out there and the do about it? percentage of the load that might not be correct. Mr Moran: We are doing a lot but I will not steal What we are also doing is carrying out a significant Vivien’s thunder. programme of activity and we have specialised much Ms Hopkins: I was talking about priorities earlier of this to identify correct cases out there. For and that is why this is my top priority. example, in non-state pension cases, we have already reviewed all the ones that we have identified. We Q84 Mrs Humble: Your accuracy. scan our live load to pick out the ones that look as if Ms Hopkins: Yes. There is no question about the they might be wrong. We have reviewed all of those fact that we need to get it right and then we need to and corrected them. We have a large number of keep it right. Of course, we have a strategy which sets expiring Pension Credit awards, nearly two million. out how we will do that. There is a lot of activity Each expiring award gives an opportunity to check already. I will break it down into two things. One is, that we have it right and that we are putting it right. what are we doing to make sure that the awards that So, there is a significant amount of activity going we make now are correct? I have talked about first into that. Then there is other targeted activity using of all giving our staV more time through dealing with the General Matching Service and things like that. the capacity issues. That in itself makes a very So, that is dealing with the error in the live load. important contribution. The second thing is to Mrs Humble: Thank you for that detailed answer. refresh their basic skills in order that they know what they are dealing with. Pension Credit, as you know, Q85 Chairman: I think that is just about the end but is a complex benefit to administer and to explain to one quick question. On the Pension Credit, the people. Then what we are doing is targeting the top change to the backdating, I do not expect you to causes of error. We have very clear information comment on the policy but has that had any impact, about what the causes of error are. Not surprisingly, either positive or adverse, on the workload and your they are in the earnings space and things like that. decisions and things? So, we are giving targeted training and checking and Mr Moran: It is not had an impact on the workload follow-up action and in a very bespoke way because but it is a very welcome thing for staV to deal with diVerent centres have diVerent causes of error. So, in because the 12 months was always a more complex each centre, we are making absolutely sure that we case because you had to understand what had are targeting with appropriate training and checking happened in the previous 12 months in terms of the right causes of error. The new model which will income, savings and all of that and, with it being enable us to specialise in complex areas will also be three months, it is an easier case to now administer helpful. By having a small number of people very, than it was when it was 12 months. So, there is that very highly trained and skilled and supported to deal sort of impact and we do expect the change itself to with the most complex cases will in itself support the contribute to some of the error that Mrs Humble reducing error strategy. Whilst overall the results are was just talking about in terms of reducing that value disappointing, what we have seen in the first six of error because we will not be making similar errors months of this year is that in the first three months in that complex type of case. things were much as they were and in the second Chairman: Finally, I refuse to use the word three months that activity is starting to pay oV and “vulnerable” because I think it is insulting but you we are just starting to see improvements in accuracy do have an extremely sensitive caseload and I think and that is very helpful because they are coming that, by and large, we are very grateful for the through in a sustained way and it is looking better as improvements that are there and we hope they we go forward. I said earlier that that is what continue. Good luck in the future but we will be everyone wants to do. Our staV would rather get returning to some of these issues which I am sure will things right than get them wrong. I am encouraged not surprise you. Thank you very much. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [SE] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 16 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Written evidence
1. Memorandum submitted by the Department for Work and Pensions
1. Overview PDCS 1.1 This memorandum provides the Department’s written contribution to the Work and Pensions Select Committee’s one-oV evidence session with the Chief Executive of the Pension, Disability and Carers Service (PDCS). 1.2 PDCS is the part of the Department for Work and Pensions which administers benefits to pensioners, disabled people and carers. The Agency aims to do this by understanding and meeting the needs of our customers in more holistic ways and in doing so delivering our services more eVectively and eYciently. The Agency is accountable for £89billion of expenditure in pensions and benefits and serves 15 million customers. 1.3 The PDCS was established on 1 April 2008 playing a key part in the Department’s overall ambition to become an exemplar of service delivery to both individuals and employers. 1.4 Over half of the customers of the Disability and Carers Service (DCS) were also customers of The Pension Service (TPS) and the proportion is growing as people live longer. 1.5 The merger of the two former Agencies over time will facilitate more coherent services to customers, strengthen collective capability to deliver our eYciency challenge and support the delivery of Departmental Strategic Objectives. 1.6 The new Agency will also help us to give many more customers the services and support they need through one organisation in a more joined up way. This is a considerable undertaking and one which will undoubtedly present opportunities to build on the experiences and progress made by the two former agencies. 1.7 PDCS already has ambitious plans which we inherit from the predecessor agencies for improving the way we serve our customers. These will continue as the Agency increasingly builds the delivery of our services around the needs of individual customers and not simply on the basis of the pension or benefits delivered.
2. Merger The merger of the two former agencies will mean that PDCS is better placed to reduce duplication and confusion for the customer by focusing on the customer’s needs, particularly those in receipt of more than one benefit. Over time PDCS will ensure that more of their needs can be delivered on any one occasion when in contact with the Agency and ultimately DWP. In addition to delivering more eVective services to customers considerable work is underway to restructure the new Agency to realise the benefits of being a single agency so that overheads and corporate costs, not driven by customer workloads, can be reduced. We estimate that the Agency will in a full year save in the region of £5million as a result of eYciencies. By 2010/11 the Agency expects the proportion of people employed in our corporate service roles to amount to no more than 10% of our overall workforce, down from 13.5% when the new Agency was formed.
3. Our Vision and Mission In establishing the new Agency it was important to have a vision that our employees could relate to and which captured the essence of what the new Agency was about. We therefore asked our staV to give us their suggestions. Amongst the many ideas one colleague suggested that our vision should be: “working together to make lives better”. We believed this reflected well where we wanted to be as a new Agency. In thinking about what we wanted the new Agency to be regarded as we also consulted on our mission. From the responses we received we believed the following captured the essence well: “to be an accessible, trusted and eYcient service whose people feel valued and energised to respect, understand and fulfil our customers’ needs every day”. The Agency has now adopted the Vision and Mission as our drivers to deliver better services to our customers and enhance the leadership of our people. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 17
4. What we Deliver PDCS provides financial support for pensioners, disabled people and carers through the administration of the following benefits: — State Pension (SP); — Pension Credit (PC); — Winter Fuel Payments (WFP); — Disability Living Allowance (DLA); — Attendance Allowance (AA); — Carer’s Allowance (CA); and — Vaccine Damage Payments (VDP).
4.1 State Pension Provides a flat-rate income from State Pension age through the National Insurance system, and an earnings-related element for those customers who earned above a certain level.
Number of customers 11.7 million customers Total benefit paid £61.4billion
4.2 Pension Credit
Provides a contribution to a minimum guaranteed income for those aged 60 and over.
Number of customers 3.33 million customers Total benefit paid £7.6billion
4.3 Winter Fuel Payments To provide a significant and well-timed single payment to eligible older households towards their winter fuel bills.
Number of customers 11.7 million customers Total benefit paid £1.8billion
4.4 Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance DLA and AA are designed to contribute to the extra costs in relation to care or mobility that a disabled person has to meet as a consequence of their disability. DLA can be used for example for the Motability Scheme, which enables customers with severe mobility problems to buy or lease a vehicle.
4.5 Disability Living Allowance DLA also provides help for people who are severely disabled relatively early in life. It is non-contributory, not income-related and tax-free. Entitlement is based on the eVects of disability on the person’s care and mobility. It is awarded to applicants who are aged under 65 and require supervision and/or need help with personal care and/or have mobility needs.
Number of DLA customers 2.4 million customers Total benefit paid £10.5billion
4.6 Attendance Allowance AA is awarded for care needs to people who become disabled after the age of 65. Unlike DLA, AA has no mobility component.
Number of AA customers 1.6 million customers Total benefit paid £4.7billion Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 18 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
4.7 Carers Allowance CA makes a contribution to the financial needs of people who are caring for a disabled person for 35 hours a week or more. It also helps maintain the income of someone who gives up the opportunity of full-time work to provide regular and substantial care to a severely disabled person. Increasing numbers of claims from the over 65s means that many carers now have underlying entitlement only.
Number of CA customers 800k customers Total benefit paid £1.3billion
4.8 Vaccine Damage Payments VDPs are awarded to applicants whose vaccination against a specified disease is accepted as having resulted in a severe level of disablement. A one-oV tax-free payment of £100,000 is paid if medical opinion states that the vaccination given caused at least 60% of the disablement.
Number of vVDP customers 2 Total benefit paid £200,000
4.9 Running Costs In administering the above benefit expenditure PDCS incurs a running cost of £718million.
5. Our People 5.1. PDCS employs over 17,500 staV based in 26 sites across Great Britain. In 2008–09 we will administer benefit expenditure in excess of £89billion to around 15 million customers.
5.2 Pension Centres Deliver pensions, entitlements and other services to over 12 million pensioners in Great Britain and abroad. Customers can contact us using the telephone, by post or e-mail through the nationwide network of Pension Centres. There are currently: — 13 Regional Pension Centres deal with State Pension, Pension Credit, Winter Fuel and Age Related payments in Birmingham, Burnley*, Cwmbran*, CardiV*, Dearne Valley, Dundee*, Leicester, Motherwell*, Seaham*, Stockport*, Swansea*, Walsall and Warrington*. — one Future Pension Centre in Newcastle dealing with pension forecasts, pension tracing and pension sharing on divorce, — one National Pension Centre in Newcastle dealing with new claims for State Pension for widows, some widowers, surviving civil partners, divorcees/former civil partners and; — one International Pension Centre in Newcastle dealing with over a million customers in over two hundred countries around the world.
Customers calling one of our *10 Transformation Centres can have their applications for both State Pension and Pension Credit handled over the telephone without, in some cases, the need for any follow-up paperwork or signature required. From 3 November 2008 Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit claims can be made at the same time as the Pension Credit claim. There are approximately 8,500 staV employed in these centres.
5.3 Local Service Local Service provides face to face contact for vulnerable customers through home visits and Information Points in community locations across Great Britain. Local teams raise awareness of what is available, increase the take-up of entitlements and join up a wide range of services by working in partnership with local authorities and voluntary organisations, increasingly through integrated teams. Local Service employs approximately 1,800 people. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 19
5.4 Disability Benefit Centres (DBCs) There are eight DBCs, located in Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, CardiV, and Wembley, employing just over 2,000 people. Each DBC is responsible for administering new claims to DLA and AA. DBCs maintain responsibility for any action resulting from the new claim including reconsiderations and appeals for 13 weeks. After that, responsibility for the customer transfers to the Disability Contact and Processing Units.
5.5 Disability Contact and Processing Units (DCPUs) There are five DCPUs co-located in Blackpool, employing approximately 2,600 staV and are responsible for maintaining DLA and AA claims, processing renewal claims, reconsiderations and appeals. DCPU also process and maintain applications from eligible customers applying for the Motability scheme. This scheme enables customers who have an award of 12 months or more of Higher Rate Mobility Component to lease or purchase a vehicle or scooter through deductions from their weekly benefit payment. The unit also includes Helpline in Blackpool and Benefit Enquiry Line (BEL) in Preston, both of which are national telephone services providing advice and information to customers, their carers or representatives.
5.6 Carer’s Allowance Unit (CAU) This is a centralised national unit based at Preston and responsible for the administration of CA and employs approximately 770 people. It handles all claims and subsequent changes arising.
5.7 Vaccine Damage Payment Unit This small unit is located within the CAU and is responsible for the administration of payments to those customers who meet the qualifying criteria.
6. Change and Transformation Programme 6.1 The new Agency has a large portfolio of change and transformation activity already planned. Current priorities include: — Implementation of the Pension Transformation Programme (PTP)—transformed services will considerably improve the customer experience through better business processes, better IT and more eVective training and guidance which reduces staV and customer duplication of eVort. — Services have been designed so that customers are able to report changes over the telephone. This will result in a much simpler, quicker experience for customers and a significant reduction in the cost of serving them. Introducing electronic document scanning, storage and retrieval will make the overall experience of dealing with the Agency better, quicker and cheaper.
Number of DLA customers 2.4 million customers Total benefit paid £10.5billion The new ways of working are also more eYcient with productivity improved by at least 80%. For example, customers can now apply for their State Pension in a 20 minute phone call and in almost half of all calls they are advised of their entitlement at the end of the call. 6.2 Investment in Local Services—we are examining what support we can provide to modernise the service we provide in people’s homes, to be less intrusive and remove paper claims. 6.3 Disability and Carers Benefits Initiatives—includes: — Customer Case Management improvements to the claiming process and decision making on DLA claims for disabled children. A suite of products, claim form, medical guidance, duration guidance and decision notifications for children are being designed and developed for testing in 2009. — Implementation of the “lean” methodology, to streamline processes and improve customer services, in all 5 DCPUs, CardiV and other DBCs, the International Pensions Centre and the National Pension Centre. 6.4 Pensions Reform—The PDCS Pensions Reform Delivery Programme is responsible for implementing the most radical change in over 60 years to the UK State Pension system. The scope of these changes includes equalisation of State pension age between 2010/2020. State pension reform measures in both 2007 and 2008 pensions legislation include a reduction in the qualifying years needed for a full State Pension to 30 years and the introduction of Carers Credit. 6.5 To date the programme has mobilised successfully to support the passage of legislation, updated customer information material to reflect Pensions Reform legislation, and amended the first six of the 25 aVected departmental (and HMRC) IS/IT systems. This includes updating state pension forecasting IT systems and restoring a full state pension forecasting service to all customers on schedule. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 20 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
7. Directorate Support Services 7.1 PDCS has six support functions (Human Resources, Resources and Performance, Strategy, Operations Support, Customers and Partners, and Change and Transformation), located at various sites. At the start of the new Agency they employed 1,625 people, with plans to reduce to 1,437 by March 2009, and 1,235 by March 2011.
8. Staff Survey StaV Survey performance in January 2008 declined across all four key indices: Leadership, Line Management, Engagement and Customer Service. Despite this disappointing decline there were also positive areas of improvement. The numbers of staV believing PDCS does an important job rose again and more Managers feel their staV have the skills they need to deliver objectives, whilst the majority of our people feel they get the help and support needed from colleagues. The Agency priority was to generate improvements in those areas where the score has declined, particularly engagement and customer service. Working groups across the new Agency have provided more qualitative understanding of the reasons behind the responses and have enabled more targeted responses to enable us to react. This has included the development of a new people engagement initiative—Working Together has been launched. This enables PDCS Directors to engage face to face with staV in a structured way and gain their input into the strategy and changes within the Agency. Early indicators from an internal sample survey in September shows some positive improvements. The Customer Service Index improved by 7% to 61%, Engagement improved by 4% to 55%, and Line Management is up 3% to 55%.
9. Performance Our overall performance is measured under four main themes: — accuracy (including fraud and error); — productivity and speed of clearance; — telephony performance; and —eYciency (including headcount and sick absence). Overall customer satisfaction is measured through our annual customer perception survey, carried out for us by independent experts in the field. Finally, the Agency has a target to reduce pensioner poverty through awarding pension credit expressed in terms of the volume of cases successfully awarded and total financial value.
Accuracy (including fraud and error) Each pension or benefit is currently measured for accuracy purposes in diVerent ways. DLA/AA reported accuracy is measured by independently sampling a percentage of cases each month, reported as a rolling 12- month average. The sample is small and liable to be aVected by minor variations. Underpinning these checks, there is both a local checking regime, targeted at specific problems in each unit, and a national quality improvement programme that includes independent examinations of casework in all units. Although there has been a recent dip in accuracy as measured through the rolling average, the underlying trend shows improvement and the end of year target will be achieved. Pensions accuracy, especially in relation to Pension Credit, is an ongoing challenge but is our top priority resulting in a considerable investment in time and eVort to support our staV better. Technical skills training is pivotal to future success and is under way; and our revised operating model is designed with the requirement to improve accuracy at its heart. The Agency expect to achieve the State Pension accuracy target before the end of the calendar year and the Pension Credit accuracy target in-month by the end of the financial year. Carers Allowance accuracy remains above target. PDCS has a significant programme of work under way to deal with fraud and error in our caseload and are on track to achieve our target to check 50,600 cases this year. 9.1 The Agency will pay an estimated £89billion in benefits (Annually Managed Expenditure (AME)) to around 15 million customers. 9.2 Reducing levels of fraud and error in those payments is a first order priority. The error problem manifests in two distinct but related ways—in the measured monetary losses arising from customer and oYcial error; and in the measured accuracy of decisions made on each benefit. The causes of fraud and error, particularly benefit complexity, have been well documented including by the National Audit OYce. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 21
9.3 Latest statistics on accuracy are included Annex 2. The DWP has a target to reduce AME losses by £1billion by 2011–12. While the Agency does not have a separate formal target, it does have a target to undertake 50,600 case reviews during 2008–09, whose outcomes contribute to Departmental AME savings and it is expected that the target will be met. 9.4 PDCS strategies for improving accuracy and reducing the levels of losses fall into three main types: prevention (stopping the losses arising in the first place); compliance (controls to ensure customer and staV do what it expected); and correction (identifying and rectifying errors). A summary of these approaches is shown at Annex 3. The PDCS current priority is to improve the accuracy of our decisions on Pension Credit and have launched a campaign of activities to improve oYcial error. The latest results are encouraging and demonstrate the early impact of our combined eVorts.
Productivity and speed of clearance PDCS are achieving all our productivity related targets. More importantly we have reduced the amount of work on-hand by over 150,000 items. Better training and guidance for DLA/AA decision makers has played its part and we are redeploying some of the eYciency gains into improving quality. New IT has significantly improved the speed of processing in relation to SP work: if a claim is made by phone, on average it now takes 20 minutes or less from the beginning of the call to the award being made. 81% of all SP claims and 53% of PC are now taken over the phone with 53% and 11% respectively being concluded there and then with no further follow-up action required. The Agency has also made significant improvements to the process for dealing with bereaved pensioner customers and, following successful trials in one of our Pension Centres, are implementing the approach nationally.
Telephony In total, we answer approximately 17 million calls each year. There have been recent and sustained improvements in telephony performance in our pension centres and, at the mid-year point, our year to date performance (October 08) stands at 92.1% and we expect to achieve it consistently by the end of the year. All the Transformation Pension Centres are now accredited by the CCA. Our DLA/AA Helpline has a reputation for excellence, recognised through multiple awards and CCA accreditation for the last three years. For the first quarter of this year, performance exceeded the required standards but the change to a new, integrated telephony platform brought significant technical diYculties and performance suVered for a period of 20 weeks. It has now been fully restored but the eVect has been to reduce the overall figure, which is aggregated across all aspects of our business. PDCS expect to achieve the target consistently before the end of the year. Annex 2 attached details actual performance compared to target in respect of 2007–08 and year to date October 2008.
10. Benefit Take-Up The Agency continues to promote applications for Pension Credit through our interactions with customers at significant events in their lives such as when turning 60 years of age, claiming State Pension or reporting a death of a partner. PDCS also work with and through partners to identify and detect when customers in communities become eligible for Pension Credit or vulnerable due to a change of circumstances. In addition the Agency has focussed our outreach activity on 20 geographical locations identified as having the highest density of poor and vulnerable pensioners. The Local Service Teams are visiting around 13,000 pensioners a week, oVering full benefit entitlement checks to ensure that our customers are receiving all the benefits (including disability benefits), and services to which they are entitled. The Agency has simplified the claim processes. When making an application over the phone customers no longer need to sign and return their Pension Credit claim forms. From 3 November 2008 claims to Housing Benefit and Council Tax benefit made over the phone with PC, can be forwarded to the Local Authority without the need for a signature benefiting thousands of pensioners. Since February 2007, an additional question in the PC application process identifies relevant caring responsibilities in order to invite the customer, where appropriate, to claim CA using a new, shortened claim pack specifically designed for people of pension age. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 22 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
11. Efficiency Savings 11.1 The Agency’s plan agreed with the Department for the years 2008–09/2010–11 aims to deliver significant eYciencies. The number of staV employed is planned to reduce by 21% (from 16,300 to 12,950). Non-pay costs are planned to reduce by 5% year on year. Total operating costs (budgeted at £560million this year) are set to fall in cash terms by typically 5% year on year. The plan reflects tight control of both operating and investment expenditure. To deliver it, we must secure the payback from investment and, to a smaller degree, the eYciencies arising from merging the predecessor Agencies. 11.2 We estimate that by 2010–11, productivity (measured as the amount work processed by our employees) will have risen between 25% and 30% (depending on the benefit being processed) compared with 2007–08 across the Agency as a whole. This increased productivity reflects the payback from investment in a range of process improvements. 11.3 At mid-year 2008–09, we remain confident about delivering these planned eYciencies, and have already driven this year’s operating costs to lower than planned levels. 11.4 The impact of the economic downturn may in turn aVect the resources available for the Agency, and we are currently exploring options to reduce cost further.
12. Information Technology (IT) Systems 12.1 IT Systems are a critical enabler for the Agency to deliver its current and future challenges: to improve the customer experience, ensure eVective delivery and take up of our benefits and provide the means to achieve targeted eYciency levels. Current work has focused on a number of key areas for the Agency: — the Pensions Transformation Programme; — enabling business improvement; — ongoing system availability; and — infrastructure and telephony deployment. With the creation of the single agency we are now targeting future initiatives at the support and enablement of the features of the emerging PDCS business strategy: — Information Management; — Customer Service; and — Identity Management.
13. Quality of Customer Service provided by PDCS The aim is to provide excellent customer service. Both former agencies carried out regular customer surveys and both reported improvements in customer satisfaction between 2005 and 2007.Overall customer satisfaction in the former Pension Service improved from 81% to 85% and in the former Disability and Carers Service from 83% to 84%. Customers state that PDCS has empathetic and helpful staV and see these as key assets to the business. They also rate the provision of clear and accurate information and speed of service as most important to them. As part of continuous business improvement the Agency use mystery shopping to measure and encourage improvement in customer service.
14. Conclusion The creation of PDCS from the merger of the two former Agencies brings with it a challenging opportunity to provide more coherent services to older people, disabled people and carers. The Agency is by no means a model of public service in every respect yet but there are nevertheless very encouraging improvements in service delivery. In the process of delivering more eVective services to customers the Agency is also committed to ensuring our services are also eYcient. PDCS, as part of DWP, has ambitious plans to become an exemplar of public service delivery and the plans that are being put in place will undoubtedly drive the improvements and eYciency that our customers and tax payers can rightly expect. November 2008 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 23
Annex 1
PDCS ORGANISATION CHART
Terry Moran
Chief Executive
Vivien Hopkins Jason Feeney Stuart McKinnon-Evans
Chief Operating Officer Strategy Director Finance and Performance Director
Sarah Scullion Nigel Richardson Peter Lowe
HR Director Customer and Change and Partnerships Director Transformation Director
John Delamore John de Trafford Jane Tozer Head of IT services Non Executive Director Non Executive Director
Kate Nash George McCorkell Willy Roe
Non Executive Director Non Executive Director Non Executive Director Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 24 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
Annex 2
PDCS—PERFORMANCE
Performance Standards Target Mar-08 Sept YTD Oct YTD 2008–09
Achieve an accuracy rate of 94% on decisions YTD 94% 92.7% 92.3% 92.0% on claims for DLA Actuals Achieve an accuracy rate of 94% on decisions YTD 94% 94.3% 93.4% 93.9 on claims for AA Actuals Achieve a financial accuracy rate of 98% on YTD 98% 98.9% 99.4% 99.4% CA Actuals Achieve a financial accuracy rate of 92% on YTD Pension Credit new claims and changes of 92% 88.6% 86.7% 87.6% Actuals circumstances Achieve a financial accuracy rate of 98% on YTD State Pension new claims and changes of 98% 96.9% 96.8% 96.8% Actuals circumstances Clear new claims for DLA within an average 38 YTD 36 29.8 29.9 of 38 days or less days Actuals Clear new claims for AA within an average of 16 YTD 15.2 12.8 12.7 16 days or less days Actuals Clear new claims for CA within an average of 13.5 YTD 12.4 13.0 12.7 13.5 days or less days Actuals Clear new claims for Pension Credit within YTD 15 15.6 14.6 14.5 an average of 15 days or less Actuals Clear 95% of new claims for State Pension YTD 95% 93.1% 93.1% 93.6% within 60 days or less Actuals Achieve at least 250,000 successful new YTD 250,000 235,000 119,883 147,802 Pension Credit applications Profiles YTD 252,770 124,762 NYA Actuals Achieve a financial value of new Pension YTD £767m NA £367,801,634 £453,456,229 Credit applications of £767million Profiles YTD NYA NA £393,816,586 Actuals 12 Nov Ensure that at least 93% of calls to our YTD NYA 93% NA 89.8% telephone service are answered first time ACtuals 12 Nov Ensure that less than 1% of calls to our YTD telephone service receive the engaged tone/ 1% NA 1.1% NYA Actuals busy message The number of DLA/AA cases referred to YTD Tribunal is to be no more than 4.5% of all 4.5% 5.1% 5.0% NYA Actuals decisions Achieve the customer satisfaction target of YTD 82% of customers satisfied with the service 82% NA 82.0% 82.0% Actuals provided by DLA/AA/CA Reduce the cost of processing DLA/AA/CA YTD £34.35 NA £32.88 NYA benefits to £34.35 Actuals Reduce sick absence to no more than 8.2 YTD NYA 8.2 NA 9.35 average working days lost Actuals 21 Nov Preventing and correcting fraud and error in YTD 50,600 NA 24,095 29,041 a minimum of 50,600 cases Profiles YTD NYA NA 22,947 Actuals 11 Nov PDCS will meet its Headcount EYciency YTD 15,721 NA 16,173 15,715 Target Profiles YTD NYA NA 15,784 Actuals 21 Nov Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 25
Annex 3
PDCS STRATEGY—INITIATIVES/ACTIVITIES TO ADDRESS FRAUD AND ERROR
OYcial Customer Change in Fraud Detailed Description Error Error Customer Circs (DLA/ AA only)
PREVENTION
}}}}Prior to awarding higher rate benefits medical evidence is mandatory. }}} Benefit decision makers now have medical guidance to inform future interventions to prevent error. PIDMA—Decision maker accreditation in conjunction with Chester University to enable the right benefit decisions to be made thus preventing error further down the line and to professionalise the decision maker role. } Two strategies agreed that include various initiatives—some of the larger ones detailed on this chart, that will aid in achieving agency oYcial error targets. }}}}Policy changes—simplifying the processes for payment of benefits and the benefits themselves to reduce complexity. }} End to end review to improve the benefit payment process of Carers Allowance, a more streamlined process that reduces the risk of error. The e-services available from this will make it easier for our customers to contact us with any change of circumstances resulting in correct benefit payments. }}}}New team set up—QIST—Quality Improvement Support Team—which perform centralised checks. It frees up local resource to focus on targeted pre-payment checks (pre-payment checks now in place). On pension credit cases data matching takes place as soon as possible after payment has been made and these cases are highlighted for action urgently (known as auto- checking). It ensures staV have direct feedback at an early stage on the errors they make. }}}}A revised process that identifies new cases that need further intervention to ensure correct benefit awarded. A set of special criteria determines what intervention is required at the new claims stage. }}} IT upgrades so we can provide customers with more information on their benefit and information used to calculate it—thus inciting the customer to report any errors.
COMPLIANCE
}} New teams put in place to check accuracy of benefits awarded across the agency and to regularly report these statistics to drive improvements and improve error rate. }} Training programme for operational staV on what the top 10 errors are and how we can prevent them. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 26 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
}}}}Improved management information on when cases should be reviewed—this will give a reminder to the decision maker to review the case for any change in circumstances should the customer not have notified us. }}}}Extra Amount for Severe Disability (EASD) and Non State Pension (NSP) are the top errors for Pension Credit. Processes have been put in place to identify these cases at an early stage and direct them to the appropriately skilled staV. }}}}Internal and external audit work programme, used to focus resource/attention to address fraud and error and provide independent assurance/ opinion. }}}}Various network groups in place to direct solutions on various errors and to share best practice. Pension Centre Managers have agreed to undertake “accountability checks” on various activities eg: feedback loops to staV on errors, control of GMS (Generalised Matching Service) referrals etc.
CORRECTION
}}} New process whereby terminally ill customers who are on the higher rate benefit (awarded to terminally ill) post three years are reviewed for eligibility. }}}}Using IT to match data on customers that identifies errors in benefit payments. It matches all relevant information held by the Department to identify any possible errors eg: other benefits that may overlap. There are matches undertaken with outside information eg Post OYce redirects, HMRC and local authority information. }}}}HMRC provide data of our customers that have been receiving a National Insurance credit and who are in work—we can match this to our Carers Allowance information and correct the overpayment of benefit. }}} Ad-hoc scans are run where data matching is undertaken and provides detail of error across the whole “live load” eg DLA problems. A case cleanse exercise is due to take place, cases will be identified for action through specific data matching. }}} The Right Payment Programme team provide the Monetary Value of Error and identify the cases with the greatest propensity for change ie most likely to fall into error without any early intervention. }}}}Provide the right information at the right time to Debt Management ensure that all incorrect payments are collected in a timely manner. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 27
Annex 4
Abbreviations AA Attendance Allowance AME Annually Managed Expenditure BEL Benefit Enquiry Line CA Carers Allowance CAU Carers Allowance Unit CCA Contact Centre Association DBC Disability Benefit Centre DCPU Disability Contact and Processing Unit DCS Disability and Carers Service DLA Disability Living Allowance DWP Department for Work and Pensions IiP Investors in People IS/IT Information Systems/Information Technology PC Pension Credit PDCS Pension, Disability and Carers Service PIDMA Professionalism in Decision Making and Appeals PTP Pension Transformation Programme SP State Pension TPS The Pension Service VDP Vaccine Damage Payments WF Winter Fuel YTD Year To Date
2. Memorandum submitted by Age Concern
About Age Concern Age Concern is the UK’s largest organisation working with and for older people. Four national Age Concerns in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and a federation of over 400 local organisations work together to promote the well-being of all older people. Our work ranges from providing vital services to influencing public opinion and Government. Every day we are in touch with thousands of older people from all kinds of backgrounds—enabling them to make more of life. The Age Concern England Policy Unit develops public policy proposals on ageing and older people with respect to England and UK-wide policy. We influence Government, public bodies and professional organisations by commissioning and undertaking research, responding to consultations, liaising with decision makers, holding policy events and developing partnerships with other organisations. Most of our policy responses and summaries are available to download on our website: www.ageconcern.org.uk.
Summary — We see potential benefits in a single service although as yet we cannot point to specific improvements that have resulted from the merger. — In general older people are treated politely and with respect, and staV work to provide a good service. — Our main concern is that some Pension Centre staV do not appear to have suYcient knowledge and training to deal with more complicated cases and do not always provide complete and accurate information. — A number of other problems have been reported including delays in some areas. — In general we receive positive feedback about the local Pension Service. — We support PDCS work to improve take-up. Communications initiatives should be seen as part of a co-ordinated government strategy including cross departmental work, and administrative changes. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 28 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
1. Introduction Age Concern welcomes the opportunity to comment to the Committee on the Pension, Disability and Carers Service (PDCS). This response draws on our regular contact with the service at a national level, information we receive from older people, and feedback from local Age Concern information and advice workers including views from a number who responded to a specific request for comments to inform this response.
2. Merger of the Pension Service and Disability and Carers Service 2.1 The Pension Service and Disability and Carers Service shared many customers and we can see potential benefits for older people through a more consistent and co-ordinated service drawing on best practice in both organisations. However any reorganisation and change inevitably takes time and as yet we cannot point to specific improvements for older people brought about by the merger. At the national level both services were keen to engage with Age Concern and other organisations and we are pleased that this process continues with the PDCS. 2.2 We believe it is right that the names of the services that older people contact have been retained for the time being. The PDCS will need to think carefully about the future. The 2007 Pension Service Survey showed awareness has increased over time with 41% spontaneously mentioning the Pension Service as the place to go for information about state pensions and benefits compared to 25% in 2003. Regular changes to the names of government departments and benefits can be confusing and make it harder for individuals to know who to contact and what entitlements they might apply for. 2.3 Individuals seeking help need an eVective and joined up service regardless of how the administration is organised. So while there is now a single organisation to administer state pensions and disability benefits there also needs to be a seamless and eYcient service between the PDCS and other relevant public bodies including local authorities administering Housing and Council Tax Benefit. For example an Age Concern adviser noted that his authority sent a full length claim form rather than accepting the short form and carried out visits to verify savings after the Pension Service had already checked information provided.
3. Customer service 3.1 Our impression is that older people are normally treated politely and with respect and staV want to oVer a good service and assist older people. This is also reflected in the findings of the 2007 Pension Service Customer Survey where over 90% of people said they were treated with respect and reported that staV were easy to talk to. 3.2 Our main concern is that while the majority of straightforward cases appear to be dealt with satisfactorily, frontline Pension Service staV do not always have suYcient knowledge and training to deal with complicated cases or to give accurate and complete information about benefits and others services. Issues raised include: — There may be delays or errors when people’s circumstances are not straightforward for example when assessing help with mortgage payments, service charges or fluctuating earnings. — Where problems or errors occur it can take time to rectify these and some of our advisers have reported diYculties in talking to the person responsible for a particular case. — Additions for caring or disability may be missed or as a result of misleading or incomplete information older people may not receive their full entitlements. — Opportunities to identify additional services or support and refer to other sources of help where appropriate are missed. 3.3 We believe that is it important that staV have suYcient training to give a high quality service but equally important that they are aware of the limits of their knowledge and are able to refer cases to more experienced staV where appropriate. It is also important for advisers acting on behalf of a client to have access to the decision maker to sort out specific problems. 3.4 We have also been told about delays in processing claims in some areas. For example one adviser said Pension Credit claims were taking on average 14 weeks and (in November) they had outstanding claims from February. We understand that the process of transformation of Pension Centres may be an issue in some areas. 3.5 Some other specific concerns raised: — Pension Credit call back—staV may not actually call back when promised or people may have to wait a week or more for the call back. — Concerns about use of automated telephone services. — In some cases there are diYculties for advisers finding out information about their clients including where the Age Concern is accredited as an alternative oYce. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 29
4. Local Pension Service 4.1 Although some older people will claim benefit by telephone or on paper without support many need face to face help to deal with the complicated systems and lengthy claim processes. This is particularly important for some groups such as people for whom English is not their first language and those with disabilities. It is therefore essential that the service can be accessed at local level. 4.2 In general we have good feedback about the local Pension Service both in terms of the contact with older people and the way they work with local Age Concerns. This is not universal—one Age Concern adviser had a poor view of her local service saying she got better responses from the national Pension Service line. However in many areas local Age Concerns have good relationships with their local service. Clients are referred to each other’s services, local service can sometimes help when there are problems with particular cases and there may be joint initiatives—for example at promotional events. There are also concerns in some areas about local service resources and advisers have told us that sometimes local Pension Service staV have the same problems as they do trying to get through to decision makers. 4.3 In respect of work to encourage take-up some Age Concerns reported that local service staV were very good while others were not aware of any take-up activity.
5. Take-up 5.1 We welcome the commitment within the PDCS to increase benefit take-up. Since the introduction of Pension Credit there have been direct mailings to older people, public information campaigns and local Pension Service staV have proactively contacted older people likely to be missing out on Pension Credit through telephone calls or home visits. While initiatives have produced many claims, particularly to begin with, returns started to fall and Pension Service Business Plan for 2007–08 stated ‘it would not represent value for money to repeatedly press unwilling eligible people to take up entitlement’. More recent approaches have focussed more on benefits in general. 5.2 There is still much to be done and the latest estimates of benefit take-up show that up to £5billion of income-related benefits go unclaimed by older people each year. We believe it is right to look at take-up of all benefits together and were pleased to be invited to discuss future communications initiatives with the PDCS, DWP and other organisations. We hope this will lead to eVective opportunities to work together to encourage take-up. 5.3 Communications initiatives should be seen as part of a broader government initiative to tackle the problem of take-up. In summary we recommend: — A co-ordinated strategy on take-up for older people starting with the aim of maximising take-up of all benefits and setting out the diVerent initiatives to achieve this. — Closer working between the DWP and other government departments especially the Department of Health given the link between health and income. — At local level we would also like to see closer working so those in regular contact with older people including health and care professionals, local authority staV and sheltered housing managers routinely identify those who may be missing out on benefits and refer them for help. — A longer term goal is to develop a system of automatic payments of income-related benefits starting with pilots to test out feasibility and acceptability. — In the mean-time administrative changes could improve take-up; for example we believe the telephone claim line should be extended so that it can be used by all older people wishing to claim Housing and Council Tax Benefit even if they are not claiming Pension Credit. — Changes to reduce the complexity of systems such as a joint process for claiming Pension Credit and Carer’s Allowance. We welcome a pilot initiative that is being carried out to do this through local service visits and would like to see the principle extended to telephone claims. — Better evaluation of initiatives including testing out the impact of delivering services through partner organisations. One example is a project currently being undertaken by Age Concern Scotland, the DWP and the Scottish Executive. November 2008
3. Memorandum submitted by Lancashire County Council Welfare Rights Service 1. We are Lancashire County Council Welfare Rights Service. 2. Established by the County Council in 1987, we are a non-statutory service dedicated to providing the 1.13 million residents of Lancashire with information, advice and advocacy to enable them to secure their legal entitlements within the benefits system. Six area teams deliver a casework service to all types of client groups, and we also have a specialist benefit take-up team. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 30 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
3. Improved benefit take up amongst Lancashire’s older population has always been a high priority for the Service, and resources have over the years been specifically allocated to achieve this, for example, via: (i) targeted postal campaigns, using data supplied by district council Housing Benefit records; (ii) face to face benefit take up initiated by specially tailored letters from GPs; (iii) displays to promote benefits that are toured across Lancashire in venues such as libraries; (iv) take up project, funded as part of a Local Area Agreement to increase the number of over 65’s claiming Pension Credit, Attendance Allowance and other benefits. 4. It is from this perspective that we wish to submit evidence to the Committee.
Take-up of benefits administered by PDCS (which include Pension Credit,Disability Living Allowance and Carers’Allowance)
5. We are grateful for an opportunity to comment on the take up of benefit because of our highly successful track record and our wish to engage with the DWP. 6. For example, we are nearing the end of a three year project that has generated over £10million in benefits for older people in Lancashire. Project costs have been approx £60K per year. Since April 2006 we have obtained over 6,000 awards of benefit for older people who were missing out. During the time of the project we have engaged with doctors, local councils and the DWP to improve benefit take up. 7. In delivering take up work there are a number of hurdles to overcome. These include the expected problems in identifying people who are missing out and tailoring information in such a way as to engage with them. What is less obvious is that another of the hurdles that we frequently have to overcome is the variable level of involvement and support from other publicly funded services. The levels of cooperation we have received from the Health Service, councils and DWP has fluctuated. For example, district/borough councils in Lancashire hold data on housing benefit claimants. Based on this data we are able to send tailored information to people who are missing out. To avoid data protection issues, the letter is issued by the district/ borough although we pick up any follow up activity. This work has been running for over 15 years. In 2007–08 over £800,000 in annual benefit increase was obtained for customers through this co-operative approach and nine out of the 12 Lancashire districts in Lancashire took part in this work. 8. It is our view that benefit take up should be seen as everyone’s responsibility not just the DWP. A lot of project time is spent trying to convince oYcers within public service organisations of the need to engage with benefit take up activity. Older people have, for example, missed out because their GP practice or housing benefit oYcer has been unwilling to participate in take up work. One local project involving a health centre in Clitheroe generated over £250,000 in annual benefit increase for older people. 9. The customer feedback we have got from our work has reinforced various messages: (i) Written information is still very popular especially with older people. They want simple leaflets that include life like examples. Unfortunately, PDCS produce very little such information and what information they do produce is not always distributed to places that older people use. In Lancashire, for example, we have a number of mobile displays that tour libraries. (ii) The availability of face to face help leads to improved take up. Many people tell us that without our face to face support they would not have claimed benefit. (iii) Help with completing claim forms is very diYcult to access from PDCS, especially help with DLA and AA forms. Jobcentre Plus, for example, regularly refers claimants to our service for help with completing claim forms because no-one at PDCS takes ownership of this work. This is a curious state of aVairs when a government department consistently fails to take ownership of its own work. (iv) DWP staV who do engage with claimants need to have a wide knowledge base in order to support improved take up of benefits. Many times we have encountered claimants who have had significant contact with DWP oYcials but who have not been advised of other benefits or helped with them. (v) Work needs to be followed up. The notion of a single visit that resolves all benefit issues is fundamentally flawed. Take up work requires follow up activity in order to be successful. Most of our customers have needed several contacts spanning one to two months with our staV taking a proactive role. We have regularly visited older people who have had several previous contacts with DWP and/or local council. Benefits may even have been raised, but unless this is followed through it does not usually lead to a successful claim. We have also visited people who have been issued with a claim pack, eg for Attendance Allowance. But, because of a lack of help and follow up, the form was not submitted and benefit missed. (vi) Complexity and interactions of benefits leads to failure. For example, the Severe Disability Premium on Pension Credit relies on the award of a separate benefit (Attendance Allowance) as well as other conditions. Because many Pension Service staV do not understand the rules, this can Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 31
get missed. Many older people and their representatives wrongly believe they are not entitled to Pension Credit because they have not factored in their eligibility for the premium. On interactions, the award of carer premium on Pension Credit is linked with “underlying entitlement” to Carers Allowance. Claiming a benefit in order to get underlying entitlement which then leads to the award ofadiVerent benefit is too obscure a concept for most claimants to understand and take up therefore fails. (vii) Simple activities work, provided there is support and follow up. For example, a stall on Preston’s flag market manned by a Welfare Rights OYcer in one day has led to £14K in increased annual benefit with a further £10K in the pipeline. The oYcer met and discussed benefits with a dozen or so older people who called at the stall. He has since kept in touch with these people and provided help and support with claiming. These gains would not have been achieved without his specialist follow up support and help.
The Quality of Customer Service provided by PDCS
10. The quality of customer service provided by Pension Service gives cause for concern. In particular: (i) the time taken to process Pension Credit claims (see examples below), (ii) delays arising from a lack of information-sharing, (iii) a lack of overall benefits knowledge (and caseload ownership) by Pension Service staV, (iv) quality of standard letters, and (v) overpayment issues. 11. From our current caseload we have the following examples of poor customer service: (a) Time taken to process claim 1: Mrs A is aged 61 and was bereaved in July 2008 and left with £50 weekly to live on. We advised Mrs A to claim Pension Credit, and a referral for a home visit by the Pension Service was made. After eight weeks, she was still waiting for the home visit to take her Pension Credit claim. After we chased this up, the Pension Service visit finally took place in October. Pension Credit was finally awarded in October, three months after we first requested Pension Service to contact Mrs A. Because the claim was not taken until October this claim will show on Pension Credit statistics as being cleared within two to three weeks of claiming. The two month delay in visiting does not show up on claim clearance times. (b) Time taken to process claim 2: Mrs B was bereaved in August this year. She had been getting Pension Credit and Council Tax Benefit as part of a joint claim with her husband. On his death, Pension Credit and Council Tax Benefit were both cancelled and new claims were required to be made. This involved Mrs B submitting mortgage and other details that Pension Service already held. (c) Quality of standard letters: Letters can be very long winded, for example, the Pension Credit award letter which is at least seven pages long. There can be a failure to explain what payments are for, for example, large arrears payments are accompanied by little or no information. We have seen the wrong information on letters. For example, the wrong start date for Pension Credit, which can lead to problems with Council Tax Benefit. 12. Overpayment recovery. We wish to make an observation about the recovery of oYcial error overpayments from pensioners. This action should be on hold now but only because of a pending judicial review. Notwithstanding the legality of recovering oYcial error overpayments the practice of writing to pensioners out of the blue telling them they owe thousands of pounds, threatening legal action and not explaining how the alleged overpayment occurred was of concern to us because of the vulnerability of this age group. We have also become aware that there are guidelines in place within the DWP for dealing with overpayment recovery from vulnerable clients. The guidelines include measures such as visiting vulnerable clients rather than writing to them. When we have raised this at liaison the advice from DWP has been that their procedure guide was overruled by their systems and therefore vulnerable clients would not be identified before letters were sent unless flagged up by the referring oYce, and The Pension Service admitting they were so stretched that they had nobody who would be able to perform that role (ie not possible for vulnerable claimants to be identified by anyone). This leaves vulnerable people exposed to the distress that these letters have been known to cause. We should emphasise here that these are situations where the overpayment has been caused by an oYcial error and the claimant is entirely blameless. 13. We are grateful for the opportunity to put forward this evidence to the Committee. November 2008 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 32 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
4. Memorandum submitted by the Public and Commercial Services Union
Introduction 1. The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) represents over 300,00 members employed in the Civil Service and the private sector providing vital public services to everyone in the United Kingdom. PCS has over 80,000 members employed by the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), including 12,058 members working in the Pension, Disability and Carers Service (PDCS) out of 17,747 staV (68% membership density). 2. PCS organises within the DWP as a group, with committees for the various agencies and corporate centre. We therefore have committees in the Pension Service and Disability and Carers Service. PCS is currently looking at our structures in the DWP group to reflect PDCS.
Background 3. When the DWP was created in 2002 The Pension Service (TPS) had a workforce of around 20,000. This figure now stands at less than 11,000. Of the original 29 pension centres only 13 will remain operational by the end of 2008. 4. The Disability and Carers Service (DCS) achieved Executive Agency status from 1 October 2004. At that time the workforce numbered over 7,000 and by the end of September 2008 this figure stood at approximately 6,000. The operational side of DCS is predominately based at three sites in the Fylde Coast and Preston area. There are also eight Disability Benefit Centres throughout the UK. Three centres have been closed.
The Merger 5. PCS believes most of the problems in TPS have been limited to the Pension Transformation Programme (PTP) and the significant change programme in Pension Centres. PCS submitted a detailed paper outlining members’ concerns as part of the operational review of PTP. This is attached for the committee’s information in Annex 1.1 These issues remain since the merger. 6. In the DCS part of PDCS operations, there has been a period of working largely as normal although structural changes have been introduced combining both TPS and DCS operational centres. How these work in the future remains to be seen. HR, Change Programme, Finance work and other areas have been or are in the process of being reorganised. PCS has been informed by PDCS management that any savings realised as part of these reorganisations will be “reinvested” into operational areas. We are still awaiting evidence of this. 7. One area of concern around PDS since the merger is the Benefit Enquiry Line (BEL). In “DCS days” this was a service where disabled customers could call and gain advice in relation to any benefit enquiry. It has now become a “sign-post” only service which will reduce advice given but will meet telephony targets. This is a significant reduction in service since the merger which will disadvantage our most vulnerable and hard to help customers. 8. Since the merger a Contingency Centre has been set up using a private company called Ventura. This, along with the continual need to use Jobcentre Plus (JCP) to handle cold weather payments calls, exposes the under capacity in PDCS.
Take up of Benefits 9. In DCS previous studies have indicated that the take up rates range from 30%–70%. In TPS state pension take up has traditionally been high, however pension credit, which initially had a high take up as part of the government’s challenge to tackle pension poverty, has now tailed oV. PCS believes that cuts in local services and face to face engagement has had a significant impact on this figure.
Quality of Customer Service provided by PDCS 10. Latest figures suggest that levels of customer satisfaction are being maintained at around 82%. This equates to almost one in five customers being dissatisfied. This is borne out by the fact that the majority of customer transactions are completed over the telephone and many customers and representative groups believe alternatives should be available.
1 Not printed. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 33
11. For example, since its inception the pension service has oVered face to face appointments either in a customers own home or at a drop in event via local service. The focus of local service is mainly on visiting due to significant staYng reductions since its inception. Local service is generally applauded for its adaptability and professionalism, however, it is often prevented from delivering a quality service by the speed of processing claims to retirement pension and pension credit in pension centres. 12. PCS members have consistently complained about the upheaval, inconsistency and transparent failures of the implementation of the Pension Transformation Programme. 13. Management have consistently made the point to Pensions Trade Union Side that the Customer Account Manager (CAM) computer system can process paper claims as easily as telephone claims. This has led to a frustrating impasse with staV not given suYcient time to complete claims processing whilst being pressured by management’s tunnel vision view of telephony based targets. More seriously, this has no doubt led to a two tier service and could be deemed to be discriminatory against people who cannot use a telephone. It also hampers the processing of local service referrals. This is ironic since local service was set up to help those very individuals that could not access the service by telephone. Indeed, local service are currently conducting pilots to telephone in customer information to hopefully speed up the process. This a direct result of the increasing amount of time local service staV are spending following up cases. 14. PCS has continually highlighted the worrying level of arrears of work within Pension Centres, only to be rebuVed by senior managers saying that we have overreacted and that the arrears are within manageable parameters. For example in April 2007 there were 168,352 outstanding pension credit change cases. This had reduced to 147,000 by April 2008. The irony is that outstanding work generates additional telephone calls that prevent the work being done in the first place. We continue to argue that arrears are being masked by under-reporting and perverse behaviour driven by a performance obsessed management. 15. It is also noticeable to staV in local service that benefits administered by the former DCS are usually processed more quickly than those administered by the former pension service with newer IT equipment.
Fraud and Error 16. Our legitimate concerns, and those of the Public Accounts Committee, regarding inaccuracy in TPS have now been largely vindicated and thankfully some measures have been implemented to address the problems. However, we believe the problem with accuracy is systematic and is a direct result of inadequate training, a significant increase in staV turnover, and poor subsequent mentoring support. Prior to TPS being established state pension claims accuracy was historically always in the region of 99%. Current levels are simply unacceptable. A culture that places staV under pressure to meet targets based on call clearance and quantitative output will not be focussed on accuracy. Policy decisions have been taken to reduce the level of accuracy checking in pension centres. Furthermore, management’s decision to abandon Assessed Income Period Reviews, which are used to assess and verify customers details 12 months after their first claim, will only perpetuate incorrect awards of pension credit and resultant under and overpayments. We urged management to reverse this decision, although it is doubtful that there is the capacity within the organisation to undertake the required accuracy checking. 17. We do not routinely receive figures on levels of fraud and error in any part of PDCS.
Efficiency Savings and IT Systems 18. EYciency savings in TPS have been made, however the cost of the savings is a significant decline in the service oVered to the customer, and additional pressures on staV. It is apparent that the IT used in the pension centres has not been fully tested against a range of scenarios before being released and used in the pension centres. PCS have attended meetings at which management have criticised the benefit (in this case pension credit) as not meeting the requirement of the IT system. The IT system should be tested to meet the requirements of the products delivered by the user. 19. The DCS had pinned its hopes on the DCS Change Programme and the appointment of outside consultants to look at re-designing large elements of work processes and adopt new IT solutions. The DCS and DWP were hoping to buy an oV-the-shelf IT package for its business which, they claimed, would provide the basis for the 2,500 job cuts up to the end of March 2008 and beyond. As we now know this new IT failed to materialise, costing the taxpayer £160million when it was shelved. 20. The current AA/DLA Computer System was designed around an early 1980s platform and, whilst there have been a number of systems enhancements and additions, it remains essentially the same system. The additions are largely unproven in terms of eYciency savings however cuts have been administered on the basis of their introduction. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 34 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
PDCS Three Year Plan 21. The staYng levels in PDCS continue to be cut year on year thus pressures on staV to clear work and meet challenging targets increases. A large proportion of this is met by overtime usage which is a most ineYcient use of resources. 22. PCS has concerns about the PDCS high reliance on business type targets and their over reliance on telephony. We believe that many customers prefer the ability to go into a local oYce and speak to an adviser face to face rather than have little choice other than using the telephone to contact the department. Many PDCS customers are uncomfortable or uneasy with using the telephone to discuss sensitive and personal information. 23. PCS also believes that whichever members of staV is first contacted by the customer they should be empowered to deal with the customers queries or claim rather than handing them oV to other staV or private sector companies. November 2008
5. Memorandum submitted by the Pension, Disability and Carers Service During the one-oV evidence session I attended on 17 December, I undertook to send you some supplementary information in response to several points raised. I attach a response to Members’ questions as they appeared in the transcript. I hope the Committee finds this information helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you need further information. Terry Moran January 2009
1. Breakdown of the 20 Geographical Areas for Pension Credit Take-up (Questions 20 and 21 of Transcript) 1.1 We are developing a regional approach focusing on areas with high numbers of “eligible non- recipients” of Pension Credit. The aim of the regional activity is to create an intense focus on, and “dialogue” about, pensioner entitlements in the local community through a range of channels. This will generate awareness, but also reach out to the target audience in their daily lives through credible channels to challenge barriers and change attitudes to claiming. The regional approach includes using trusted community channels such as: — partner organisations and other intermediaries eg Age Concern, Help the Aged, Community Service Volunteers and Citizen’s Advice; — local media such as press and BBC radio to provide independent endorsement and awareness of message; — key community touch points to target pensioners (and their friends and family) in their comfort zones eg community centres, faith groups and charity shops, markets, leisure centres, convenience stores; and — PDCS Local Service to support customer-facing events. 1.2 By delivering a range of positive messages through these familiar local channels on a regular basis, we aim to gradually erode barriers to claiming entitlements, and specifically Pension Credit. 1.3 Between now and March 2009, the focus is to commence highly targeted localised activity in 20 areas. These areas have been carefully selected on the basis of data where we believe high numbers of “eligible non- recipients” of Pension Credit may exist.
Local Service Cluster Districts within each cluster SheYeld SheYeld. North Kent Dartford, Gravesham, Medway, Swale, Thanet, Dover, Canterbury (lowest priority). Durham and Tees Chester Le Street, Bishop Auckland, Darlington, Eston, Stockton on Tees, Redcar & Cleveland, Middlesbrough. Surrey Surrey Heath, Waverley, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, Epsom & Ewell, Spelthorne (priority), Tandridge, Woking, Guildford, Runnymede (priority). Excl. Elmbridge. Walsall and Sandwell Walsall, Sandwell. Bedfordshire Bedford, Mid-Bedfordshire, Luton. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 35
Local Service Cluster Districts within each cluster Hertfordshire Watford, Stevenage, Broxbourne, East Herts, North Herts, Welling & Hatfield, Three Rivers, St Albans, Dacorum, Hertsmere. Doncaster and Rotherham Doncaster, Rotherham. Gateshead, South Tyneside Gateshead, Sunderland, Houghton Le Spring, Peterlee, and Sunderland Hartlepool. Newcastle, North Tyneside Newcastle, Alnwick, Berwick upon Tweed, Blyth Valley, and Northumberland Castle Morpeth, North Tyneside, Tynedale North East Wales and Wrexham only. Excl. North East Wales. Wrexham Bournemouth and Poole Bournemouth and Poole. Cumbria Barrow in Furness only. Eastern Valleys Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil. Lincolnshire Targeting Boston, South Holland, South Kesteven and North Kesteven. Glasgow and Renfrewshire Glasgow and Renfrewshire. Manchester Central Postcodes are: M1, M4, M8, M9, M11, M12, M13, M14, M15, M16, M18, M19, M20, M21, M22, M23, M24, M31, M32, M33, M40, M41, WA13, WA14 and WA15. Somerset West Somerset only (Postcodes: TA4, TA22, TA23. TA24) Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Barnet, Haringey only. Calderdale & Kirklees Huddersfield, Halifax, Dewsbury, Brighouse. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: CWMEM1 [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 36 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence ces Y ) ranscript T of 28 and 26, 27 5,237 3,246 1,342 1,419 0 1 5 7,648 5,667 2,224 4,384 4 1 10 5,459 3,298 1,212 4,882 3 3 5 7,494 4,343 1,389 5,018 6 3 6 5,339 3,717 1,384 1,836 6 1 5 5,440 3,116 1,004 2,523 14 3 6 3,139 1,979 977 1,013 0 2 7 7,414 4,466 1,787 2,602 3 1 6 2,5024,7168,394 1,824 2,740 2,834 622 932 9427,113 1,819 869 8,714 3,711 85,078 7 1,559 7 3 2,923 5,036 4 3 855 2 15 10 10 2,746 3 5 3 3 2 5,542 3,554 1,300 1,513 0 4 6 4,107 2,603 1,019 3,459 3 1 6 3,869 2,644 1,151 847 0 1 3 3,841 3,000 1,183 3,276 0 1 8 5,023 3,306 996 2,517 3 3 7 4,6525,628 3,113 3,981 1,244 1,568 1,841 4,498 15 0 1 2 3 10 4,820 3,089 1,078 3,297 4 2 5 ective complementary No of joint No of V e contacts claims awards referrals points partnerships O customer No of No of service information working Alternative uestions (Q egion R ctivity by A ervice S ocal L Croydon, Merton & Sutton East Sussex Hampshire North, East & West South Hampshire West Sussex South City, Hackney, Islington and Tower Hamlets Havering, Redbdridge and Waltham Forest Newham, Barking & Dagenham North Kent South Kent Bucks and Milton Keynes Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow Oxford London South and SurreyBexley, Bromley and Greenwich Kingston, Richmond and Wandsworth 27,546 16,169 5,275 13,357 28 13 26 Southampton, New Forest & IOW London East,Central and KentCamden, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster 33,317 19,400London North & West,Berkshire, Oxfordshire and BuckinghamshireBarnet, Enfield & Haringey Berkshire 7,140Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham 20,502 32,616 30 19,529 14 7,588 18,309 42 24 16 30 YTD—April’08 to December’08 No of No of No of Brighton & Mid Sussex reakdown of 2.1 The table shows details of Local Service activity by region with a more detailed breakdown for the London and The South region. 2. B London andThe South Hampshire, Sussex & IOW 30,981 20,880 8,185 17,512 27 7 38 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: CWMEM1 [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 37 ces Y 5,826 3,314 1,090 1,996 0 1 5 6,179 3,510 1,330 3,575 6 3 6 ective complementary No of joint No of V e contacts claims awards referrals points partnerships O customer No of No of service information working Alternative olk, Norfolk, Lincs & Cambs. 24,995 17,656 7,296 7,595 22 4 24 V Su West Mids (North)West Mids (South)SouthernWest of ScotlandMerseysideSouth West (North)South West 26,753 (South)Wales 23,869 17,684 16,973 24,923 35,019 6,722 34,421 6,071 24,588 17,880 38,940 24,367 18,863 8,715 15,963 8,434 5,775 25,512 36,478 8,955 6,618 6,363 40 9,860 9,609 23,601 14,634 8 9,568 10,583 11,986 9,019 43 8 32 5 27 18 12,999 56 14 23 11 9 8 95 5 11 62 21 22 22 75 9 51 Surrey YTD—April’08 to December’08Lambeth, Lewisham & Southwark No of No of No of Midlands andThe East Derby, Notts, Leics & Rutland Essex, Herts, BedsScotland and and NorthantsThe North East of Scotland 24,840 NorthernWales and 30,051The West 18,383 Cheshire & Greater Manchester Cumbria, Lancashire 21,192 & National 6,984 29,894 22,918 8,570 8,805 19,359 17,072 10,189 38,688 7,096 24,164 5,715 3 12 11,684 9,811 8,332 7 6 12,832 540,837 33 70 19 354,647 11 29 10 15 132,792 215,896 16 37 13 597 30 192 542 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 38 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
3. Figures on people who have explicitly said they do not wish to claim Pension Credit, if possible broken down by Region (Question 9 of Transcript) 3.1 We hold data on those customers who have explicitly requested “No further contact” from the Department when we have contacted them about applying for Pension Credit. Since the Pension Credit campaign began in 2003 a total of 735,298 people have asked us not to contact them again. This data is collated at National level only and is not broken down at regional or constituency level. 3.2 Please note this data is not an OYcial Statistic. It is information that has been collated by the PDCS operations management for Pension Credit campaign purposes only.
4. Whether customers can receive a Combined Pension Forecast (Question 33 of Transcript) 4.1 The Combined Pension Forecasting (CPF) service resumed in September 08. The service had been suspended for 15 months while IT systems were reprogrammed to reflect Pensions Reform legislation. 4.2 To date almost 3,000 employers/pension providers have signed up and are issuing, or preparing to issue CPFs. At July 07, when the service was suspended 12.5 million CPFs had been processed. (Annual caseload in 06/07 was 4.38 million) 4.3 Despite the interruption to the service early indications are that we will retain the companies previously recruited and will continue to generate new business in the coming year. 4.4 Feedback from current customers suggests that they find CPFs a valuable tool to aid financial planning and that the process is easy to administer. Those employers who have not yet registered agree with CPFs in principle and the main barriers relate to competing priorities and lack of resources. As involvement is voluntary we cannot require employers to participate.
5. Terry agreed to look into the possibility of contacting people who were no longer eligible for a Scottish Government Free Bus Pass and contacting them advising them to apply for DLA (Question 50 of Transcript) 5.1 PDCS have no mechanism in place for contacting people no longer eligible to a Scottish Government free bus pass. However, our external relations team are meeting with a wide range of representatives from voluntary and statutory sector organisations in Scotland. This close liaison will increase the awareness of disability-related and pension age benefits within Scotland and will enable PDCS to impact Scottish Executive policy proposals on our shared customer base.
6. Figures on the number of partially sighted people receiving higher mobility rate DLA (whether they received it because they are partially sighted or because of another disability)(Question 54 of Transcript) 6.1 Unfortunately there is no information available about the number of partially sighted people receiving the higher rate mobility component of DLA (whether they receive it because they’re partially sighted or because of another disability). 6.2 The disability coding system in use on the DLA/AA computer system is intended to record data on the disease(s) giving rise to the claim for benefit and not on the severity of the impairment(s). Therefore we are unable to provide a distinction between complete blindness and partially sighted customers. Prior to November 2008 a very limited coding system was in use that contained a single code for all visual impairments. From November 2008 a more comprehensive disability coding system was introduced that now has the facility to diVerentiate between over 40 diVerent eye diseases but still does not allow for the severity to be recorded.
7. More information on Take-up in the BME Community (Questions 29 and 30 of Transcript) 7.1 PDCS do not record separately take-up of Pension Credit amongst Black and Ethnic Minority communities although they are included in our take-up campaigns. PDCS have developed an inclusive Pension Credit campaign, with initiatives specifically targeted at ethnic minority elders and their friends and family and work with local community partners to build trust and confidence within these communities and enhance take-up. Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 39
8. Breakdown of Pensions Credit Take-up by Region (Questions 20 and 21 of Transcript)
8.1 Details below show the latest information published by the OYce of National Statistics for the Westminster and Scottish Parliamentary constituencies.
Caseload—number of claimants (Thousands) Total Parliamentary Constituency of claimant (Westminster) 2,719.14 Aldershot 2.62 Aldridge Brownhills 4.51 Altrincham and Sale West 3.12 Amber Valley 4.81 Arundel and South Downs 3.06 Ashfield 5.18 Ashford 4.12 Ashton under Lyne 5.61 Aylesbury 3.06 Banbury 3.37 Barking 3.87 Barnsley Central 4.79 Barnsley East and Mexborough 5.17 Barnsley West and Penistone 4.39 Barrow and Furness 4.47 Basildon 4.43 Basingstoke 2.97 Bassetlaw 4.40 Bath 3.38 Batley and Spen 4.39 Battersea 3.42 Beaconsfield 2.26 Beckenham 2.87 Bedford 4.15 Berwick upon Tweed 4.25 Bethnal Green and Bow 6.80 Beverley and Holderness 4.63 Bexhill and Battle 4.60 Bexleyheath and Crayford 2.76 Billericay 4.26 Birkenhead 5.30 Birmingham Edgbaston 4.77 Birmingham Erdington 6.57 Birmingham Hall Green 4.72 Birmingham Hodge Hill 5.59 Birmingham Ladywood 6.85 Birmingham Northfield 4.27 Birmingham Perry Barr 5.71 Birmingham Selly Oak 4.73 Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath 7.63 Birmingham Yardley 4.82 Bishop Auckland 5.76 Blaby 3.18 Blackburn 5.73 Blackpool North and Fleetwood 6.67 Blackpool South 6.87 Blaydon 4.94 Blyth Valley 4.27 Bognor Regis and Littlehampton 5.10 Bolsover 4.91 Bolton North East 5.23 Bolton South East 5.50 Bolton West 3.66 Bootle 6.11 Boston and Skegness 6.31 Bosworth 3.77 Bournemouth East 4.22 Bournemouth West 5.02 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 40 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
Caseload—number of claimants (Thousands) Bracknell 2.71 Bradford North 5.53 Bradford South 5.38 Bradford West 6.03 Braintree 4.31 Brent East 4.21 Brent North 3.60 Brent South 4.54 Brentford and Isleworth 4.04 Brentwood and Ongar 2.76 Bridgwater 4.92 Brigg and Goole 4.50 Brighton Kemptown 4.83 Brighton Pavilion 3.38 Bristol East 4.71 Bristol North West 4.72 Bristol South 5.37 Bristol West 2.64 Bromley and Chislehurst 3.05 Bromsgrove 3.29 Broxbourne 3.40 Broxtowe 3.63 Buckingham 2.23 Burnley 5.06 Burton 4.14 Bury North 4.12 Bury South 4.28 Bury St. Edmunds 3.99 Calder Valley 4.48 Camberwell and Peckham 4.40 Cambridge 2.62 Cannock Chase 4.78 Canterbury 4.15 Carlisle 3.65 Carshalton and Wallington 3.14 Castle Point 4.15 Central SuVolk and North Ipswich 3.82 Charnwood 3.45 Chatham and Aylesford 3.55 Cheadle 2.55 Cheltenham 3.41 Chesham and Amersham 2.12 Chesterfield 5.42 Chichester 4.16 Chingford and Woodford Green 3.25 Chipping Barnet 3.10 Chorley 4.19 Christchurch 4.26 Cities of London and Westminster 3.75 City of Chester 3.96 City of Durham 4.02 City of York 4.42 Cleethorpes 5.05 Colchester 3.94 Colne Valley 4.09 Congleton 3.30 Copeland 3.19 Corby 4.16 Cotswold 3.38 Coventry North East 6.16 Coventry North West 5.33 Coventry South 4.67 Crawley 3.29 Crewe and Nantwich 3.96 Crosby 3.39 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 41
Caseload—number of claimants (Thousands) Croydon Central 4.05 Croydon North 4.75 Croydon South 2.53 Dagenham 4.62 Darlington 5.07 Dartford 3.19 Daventry 3.43 Denton and Reddish 4.92 Derby North 4.60 Derby South 5.54 Devizes 4.05 Dewsbury 4.54 Doncaster Central 5.23 Doncaster North 4.99 Don Valley 4.35 Dover 4.58 Dudley North 5.96 Dudley South 5.11 Dulwich and West Norwood 3.71 Ealing Acton and Shepherds Bush 4.86 Ealing North 4.37 Ealing Southall 5.22 Easington 5.14 East Devon 4.24 East Ham 5.27 East Hampshire 3.13 East Surrey 2.55 East Worthing and Shoreham 4.26 East Yorkshire 5.86 Eastbourne 5.40 Eastleigh 3.09 Eccles 5.58 Eddisbury 3.28 Edmonton 4.38 Ellesmere Port and Neston 3.65 Elmet 3.78 Eltham 3.16 Enfield North 4.12 Enfield Southgate 3.26 Epping Forest 3.83 Epsom and Ewell 2.33 Erewash 4.82 Erith and Thamesmead 3.85 Esher and Walton 2.51 Exeter 4.51 Falmouth and Camborne 6.15 Fareham 2.76 Faversham and Mid Kent 3.56 Feltham and Heston 4.21 Finchley and Golders Green 4.01 Folkestone and Hythe 5.40 Forest of Dean 3.96 Fylde 4.29 Gainsborough 4.18 Gateshead East and Washington West 5.33 Gedling 3.70 Gillingham 3.37 Gloucester 4.74 Gosport 3.40 Grantham and Stamford 4.42 Gravesham 3.91 Great Grimsby 5.34 Great Yarmouth 6.55 Greenwich and Woolwich 4.18 Guildford 2.40 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 42 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
Caseload—number of claimants (Thousands) Hackney North and Stoke Newington 4.91 Hackney South and Shoreditch 5.78 Halesowen and Rowley Regis 5.52 Halifax 5.06 Haltemprice and Howden 3.18 Halton 4.44 Hammersmith and Fulham 4.42 Hampstead and Highgate 3.97 Harborough 3.66 Harlow 3.84 Harrogate and Knaresborough 3.09 Harrow East 4.92 Harrow West 3.33 Hartlepool 6.18 Harwich 7.68 Hastings and Rye 5.87 Havant 4.48 Hayes and Harlington 3.07 Hazel Grove 3.60 Hemel Hempstead 3.43 Hemsworth 4.62 Hendon 4.37 Henley 2.23 Hereford 4.25 Hertford and Stortford 2.83 Hertsmere 3.28 Hexham 2.96 Heywood and Middleton 5.26 High Peak 3.73 Hitchin and Harpenden 2.47 Holborn and St. Pancras 4.94 Hornchurch 3.11 Hornsey and Wood Green 4.13 Horsham 2.58 Houghton and Washington East 5.42 Hove 4.53 Huddersfield 4.86 Huntingdon 3.23 Hyndburn 4.54 Ilford North 3.92 Ilford South 4.48 Ipswich 4.61 Isle of Wight 8.08 Islington North 4.90 Islington South and Finsbury 4.59 Jarrow 5.88 Keighley 4.52 Kensington and Chelsea 3.29 Kettering 4.23 Kingston and Surbiton 3.08 Kingston upon Hull East 6.72 Kingston upon Hull North 5.08 Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle 6.35 Kingswood 4.81 Knowsley North and Sefton East 6.40 Knowsley South 6.75 Lancaster and Wyre 4.20 Leeds Central 5.80 Leeds East 4.64 Leeds North East 3.95 Leeds North West 2.98 Leeds West 4.60 Leicester East 6.29 Leicester South 5.40 Leicester West 5.33 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 43
Caseload—number of claimants (Thousands) Leigh 5.28 Leominster 3.97 Lewes 3.55 Lewisham Deptford 3.37 Lewisham East 3.58 Lewisham West 3.39 Leyton and Wanstead 3.57 Lichfield 3.32 Lincoln 4.60 Liverpool Garston 5.97 Liverpool Riverside 7.40 Liverpool Walton 6.72 Liverpool Wavertree 5.88 Liverpool West Derby 6.60 Loughborough 3.37 Louth and Horncastle 6.24 Ludlow 3.90 Luton North 3.57 Luton South 4.31 Macclesfield 3.16 Maidenhead 2.31 Maidstone and The Weald 3.41 Makerfield 4.69 Maldon and East Chelmsford 3.50 Manchester Blackley 5.88 Manchester Central 6.23 Manchester Gorton 4.82 Manchester Withington 3.98 Mansfield 4.30 Medway 3.69 Meriden 4.33 Mid Bedfordshire 2.78 Mid Dorset and North Poole 3.28 Mid Norfolk 4.78 Mid Sussex 2.59 Mid Worcestershire 3.72 Middlesbrough 5.99 Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland 5.19 Milton Keynes South West 3.84 Mitcham and Morden 3.55 Mole Valley 2.30 Morecambe and Lunesdale 5.22 Morley and Rothwell 4.65 New Forest East 2.89 New Forest West 3.89 Newark 4.26 Newbury 2.91 Newcastle upon Tyne Central 4.48 Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend 5.59 Newcastle upon Tyne North 5.21 Newcastle under Lyme 4.11 Normanton 3.93 North Cornwall 6.04 North Devon 5.03 North Dorset 3.58 North Durham 5.52 North East Bedfordshire 2.88 North East Cambridgeshire 6.23 North East Derbyshire 4.58 North East Hampshire 2.09 North East Hertfordshire 3.32 North East Milton Keynes 3.16 North Essex 3.48 North Norfolk 5.94 North Shropshire 4.74 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 44 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
Caseload—number of claimants (Thousands) North Southwark and Bermondsey 5.07 North Swindon 3.54 North Thanet 6.70 North Tyneside 5.93 North Warwickshire 4.53 North West Cambridgeshire 3.62 North West Durham 5.88 North West Hampshire 3.06 North West Leicestershire 3.63 North West Norfolk 5.86 North Wiltshire 3.36 Northampton North 4.36 Northampton South 4.17 Northavon 3.05 Norwich North 4.65 Norwich South 5.03 Nottingham East 4.71 Nottingham North 5.70 Nottingham South 4.44 Nuneaton 4.33 Old Bexley and Sidcup 2.65 Oldham East and Saddleworth 4.90 Oldham West and Royton 5.42 Orpington 3.17 Oxford East 3.52 Oxford West and Abingdon 2.49 Pendle 4.68 Penrith and The Border 3.18 Peterborough 4.88 Plymouth Devonport 5.24 Plymouth Sutton 4.54 Pontefract and Castleford 4.59 Poole 4.29 Poplar and Canning Town 6.09 Portsmouth North 3.45 Portsmouth South 4.96 Preston 5.20 Pudsey 3.92 Putney 3.02 Rayleigh 3.00 Reading East 2.68 Reading West 3.25 Redcar 5.34 Redditch 3.47 Regents Park and Kensington North 7.28 Reigate 2.25 Ribble Valley 3.01 Richmond Yorks 2.99 Richmond Park 2.76 Rochdale 5.49 Rochford and Southend East 5.11 Romford 3.12 Romsey 2.60 Rossendale and Darwen 4.46 Rother Valley 4.38 Rotherham 4.80 Rugby and Kenilworth 3.91 Ruislip Northwood 2.43 Runnymede and Weybridge 2.78 RushcliVe 3.20 Rutland and Melton 3.02 Ryedale 3.90 SaVron Walden 3.45 St Albans 2.39 St Helens North 4.98 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 45
Caseload—number of claimants (Thousands) St Helens South 5.04 St Ives 6.12 Salford 5.45 Salisbury 3.73 Scarborough and Whitby 5.92 Scunthorpe 4.37 Sedgefield 4.98 Selby 3.38 Sevenoaks 2.58 SheYeld AttercliVe 6.18 SheYeld Brightside 5.70 SheYeld Central 5.69 SheYeld Hallam 2.13 SheYeld Heeley 5.90 SheYeld Hillsborough 5.33 Sherwood 3.80 Shipley 4.10 Shrewsbury and Atcham 4.30 Sittingbourne and Sheppey 4.40 Skipton and Ripon 3.82 Sleaford and North Hykeham 4.65 Slough 4.05 Solihull 4.00 Somerton and Frome 3.91 South Cambridgeshire 2.56 South Derbyshire 4.41 South Dorset 4.16 South East Cambridgeshire 3.66 South East Cornwall 5.09 South Holland and The Deepings 4.98 South Norfolk 4.73 South Ribble 3.68 South Shields 6.05 South StaVordshire 4.08 South SuVolk 3.63 South Swindon 3.61 South Thanet 5.18 South West Bedfordshire 3.35 South West Devon 3.05 South West Hertfordshire 2.61 South West Norfolk 6.12 South West Surrey 2.64 Southampton Itchen 4.82 Southampton Test 4.37 Southend West 4.11 Southport 5.16 Spelthorne 2.51 StaVord 3.39 StaVordshire Moorlands 3.93 Stalybridge and Hyde 4.66 Stevenage 3.69 Stockport 4.25 Stockton North 5.20 Stockton South 4.05 Stoke on Trent Central 4.85 Stoke on Trent North 4.51 Stoke on Trent South 4.87 Stone 3.19 Stourbridge 4.35 Stratford on Avon 4.19 Streatham 4.27 Stretford and Urmston 4.41 Stroud 3.85 SuVolk Coastal 4.56 Sunderland North 6.30 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 46 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
Caseload—number of claimants (Thousands) Sunderland South 6.37 Surrey Heath 2.26 Sutton and Cheam 2.62 Sutton Coldfield 3.46 Tamworth 4.09 Tatton 2.74 Taunton 4.65 Teignbridge 5.71 Telford 4.09 Tewkesbury 2.98 The Wrekin 4.02 Thurrock 4.64 Tiverton and Honiton 4.55 Tonbridge and Malling 2.91 Tooting 3.34 Torbay 6.89 Torridge and West Devon 5.53 Totnes 5.25 Tottenham 6.06 Truro and St Austell 5.40 Tunbridge Wells 2.86 Twickenham 2.60 Tyne Bridge 5.90 Tynemouth 4.80 Upminster 3.25 Uxbridge 2.64 Vale of York 3.18 Vauxhall 5.21 Wakefield 4.41 Wallasey 5.51 Walsall North 6.30 Walsall South 5.67 Walthamstow 4.27 Wansbeck 4.36 Wansdyke 3.37 Wantage 2.75 Warley 5.59 Warrington North 4.23 Warrington South 3.65 Warwick and Leamington 4.16 Watford 3.31 Waveney 6.12 Wealden 3.69 Weaver Vale 3.79 Wellingborough 4.96 Wells 4.50 Welwyn Hatfield 3.25 Wentworth 5.08 West Bromwich East 5.86 West Bromwich West 6.78 West Chelmsford 3.13 West Derbyshire 3.49 West Dorset 4.23 West Ham 4.92 West Lancashire 4.90 West SuVolk 4.11 West Worcestershire 3.53 Westbury 4.02 Westmorland and Lonsdale 3.20 Weston Super Mare 5.48 Wigan 4.60 Wimbledon 2.21 Winchester 3.34 Windsor 2.54 Wirral South 3.09 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 47
Caseload—number of claimants (Thousands) Wirral West 4.02 Witney 3.05 Woking 2.37 Wokingham 1.68 Wolverhampton North East 5.35 Wolverhampton South East 5.53 Wolverhampton South West 5.01 Woodspring 3.01 Worcester 3.81 Workington 4.44 Worsley 4.79 Worthing West 4.48 Wycombe 3.06 Wyre Forest 4.83 Wythenshawe and Sale East 6.07 Yeovil 4.52 Aberavon 4.53 Alyn and Deeside 3.45 Blaenau Gwent 4.82 Brecon and Radnorshire 3.25 Bridgend 3.88 Caernarfon 3.62 Caerphilly 5.03 CardiV Central 2.55 CardiV North 2.87 CardiV South and Penarth 5.39 CardiV West 4.37 Carmarthen East and Dinefwr 3.85 Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire 4.13 Ceredigion 3.34 Clwyd South 3.99 Clwyd West 4.55 Conwy 3.84 Cynon Valley 3.96 Delyn 3.54 Gower 3.57 Islwyn 3.88 Llanelli 5.21 Meirionnydd Nant Conwy 2.49 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 4.58 Monmouth 3.38 Montgomeryshire 2.86 Neath 4.52 Newport East 3.66 Newport West 4.41 Ogmore 3.89 Pontypridd 4.37 Preseli Pembrokeshire 3.98 Rhondda 5.42 Swansea East 4.78 Swansea West 4.58 Torfaen 4.65 Vale of Clwyd 4.98 Vale of Glamorgan 4.03 Wrexham 3.60 Ynys Mon 4.11 Aberdeen Central (pre 2005) " Aberdeen North (pre 2005) " Aberdeen South (pre 2005) " Airdrie and Shotts (pre 2005) " Angus (pre 2005) " Argyll and Bute (pre 2005) " Ayr (pre 2005) " BanV and Buchan (pre 2005) " Caithness Sunderland & Easter Ross (pre 2005) " Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 48 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
Caseload—number of claimants (Thousands) Carrick Cumnock & Doon Valley (pre 2005) " Central Fife (pre 2005) " Clydebank & Milngavie (pre 2005) " Clydesdale (pre 2005) " Coatbridge & Chryston (pre 2005) " Cumbernauld & Kilsyth (pre 2005) " Cunninghame North (pre 2005) " Cunninghame South (pre 2005) " Dumbarton (pre 2005) " Dumfries (pre 2005) " Dundee East (pre 2005) " Dundee West (pre 2005) " Dunfermline East (pre 2005) " Dunfermline West (pre 2005) " East Kilbride (pre 2005) " East Lothian (pre 2005) " Eastwood (pre 2005) " Edinburgh Central (pre 2005) " Edinburgh East & Musselburgh (pre 2005) " Edinburgh North & Leigh (pre 2005) " Edinburgh Pentlands (pre 2005) " Edinburgh South (pre 2005) " Edinburgh West (pre 2005) " Falkirk East (pre 2005) " Falkirk West (pre 2005) " Galloway & Upper Nithsdale (pre 2005) " Glasgow Anniesland (pre 2005) " Glasgow Baillieston (pre 2005) " Glasgow Cathcart (pre 2005) " Glasgow Govan (pre 2005) " Glasgow Kelvin (pre 2005) " Glasgow Maryhill (pre 2005) " Glasgow Pollok (pre 2005) " Glasgow Rutherglen (pre 2005) " Glasgow Shettleston (pre 2005) " Glasgow Springburn (pre 2005) " Gordon (pre 2005) " Greenock & Inverclyde (pre 2005) " Hamilton North and Bellshill (pre 2005) " Hamilton South (pre 2005) " Inverness East Nairn & Lochaber (pre 2005) " Kilmarnock & Loudoun (pre 2005) " Kirkcaldy (pre 2005) " Linlithgow (pre 2005) " Livingston (pre 2005) " Midlothian (pre 2005) " Moray (pre 2005) " Motherwell & Wishaw (pre 2005) " North East Fife (pre 2005) " North Tayside (pre 2005) " Ochil (pre 2005) " Orkney & Shetland (pre 2005) " Paisley North (pre 2005) " Paisley South (pre 2005) " Perth (pre 2005) " Ross Skye & Inverness West (pre 2005) " Roxburgh & Berwickshire (pre 2005) " Stirling (pre 2005) " Strathkelvin & Bearsden (pre 2005) " Tweeddale Ettrick & Lauderdale (pre 2005) " West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine (pre 2005) " West Renfrewshire (pre 2005) " Western Isles (pre 2005) " Aberdeen North (2005 onwards) 4.62 Aberdeen South (2005 onwards) 3.02 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 49
Caseload—number of claimants (Thousands) Airdrie and Shotts (2005 onwards) 5.55 Angus (2005 onwards) 4.95 Argyll and Bute (2005 onwards) 4.87 Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock (2005 onwards) 5.93 BanV and Buchan (2005 onwards) 4.68 Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (2005 onwards) 5.19 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (2005 onwards) 3.59 Central Ayrshire (2005 onwards) 5.33 Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (2005 onwards) 6.13 Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East (2005 onwards) 4.48 Dumfries and Galloway (2005 onwards) 5.88 Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (2005 onwards) 4.61 Dundee East (2005 onwards) 4.78 Dundee West (2005 onwards) 5.96 Dunfermline and West Fife (2005 onwards) 3.35 East Dunbartonshire (2005 onwards) 2.43 East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (2005 onwards) 5.19 East Lothian (2005 onwards) 4.53 East Renfrewshire (2005 onwards) 3.08 Edinburgh East (2005 onwards) 4.41 Edinburgh North and Leith (2005 onwards) 3.50 Edinburgh South (2005 onwards) 2.90 Edinburgh South West (2005 onwards) 3.27 Edinburgh West (2005 onwards) 3.39 Falkirk (2005 onwards) 5.45 Glasgow Central (2005 onwards) 5.50 Glasgow East (2005 onwards) 8.42 Glasgow North (2005 onwards) 3.81 Glasgow North East (2005 onwards) 8.87 Glasgow North West (2005 onwards) 6.76 Glasgow South (2005 onwards) 5.13 Glasgow South West (2005 onwards) 7.36 Glenrothes (2005 onwards) 5.09 Gordon (2005 onwards) 2.65 Inverclyde (2005 onwards) 6.00 Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (2005 onwards) 4.04 Kilmarnock and Loudoun (2005 onwards) 6.04 Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (2005 onwards) 5.13 Lanark and Hamilton East (2005 onwards) 5.91 Linlithgow and East Falkirk (2005 onwards) 5.35 Livingston (2005 onwards) 4.68 Midlothian (2005 onwards) 3.59 Moray (2005 onwards) 4.29 Motherwell and Wishaw (2005 onwards) 6.31 Na h-Eileanan an Iar (2005 onwards) 2.40 North Ayrshire and Arran (2005 onwards) 5.70 North East Fife (2005 onwards) 3.16 Ochil and South Perthshire (2005 onwards) 4.33 Orkney and Shetland (2005 onwards) 1.96 Paisley and Renfrewshire North (2005 onwards) 4.56 Paisley and Renfrewshire South (2005 onwards) 5.55 Perth and North Perthshire (2005 onwards) 4.51 Ross, Skye and Lochaber (2005 onwards) 3.41 Rutherglen and Hamilton West (2005 onwards) 6.79 Stirling (2005 onwards) 3.59 West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (2005 onwards) 2.45 West Dunbartonshire (2005 onwards) 6.79 Unknown 0.34 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Ev 50 Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence
Pension Credit Caseload—number of claimants (Thousands) : Scottish Parliamentary Constituency of claimant
Caseload—number of claimants (Thousands) Total Scottish Parliamentary Constituency of claimant 2,719.14 Aberdeen Central 3.02 Aberdeen North 2.72 Aberdeen South 2.72 Airdrie and Shotts 5.08 Angus 4.03 Argyll and Bute 3.97 Ayr 4.22 BanV and Buchan 4.14 Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross 3.10 Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley 5.06 Central Fife 4.22 Clydebank and Milngavie 4.41 Clydesdale 5.00 Coatbridge and Chryston 4.66 Cumbernauld and Kilsyth 3.34 Cunninghame North 4.28 Cunninghame South 4.36 Dumbarton 3.91 Dumfries 4.38 Dundee East 4.91 Dundee West 4.75 Dunfermline East 3.38 Dunfermline West 2.44 East Kilbride 4.41 East Lothian 3.69 Eastwood 3.08 Edinburgh Central 2.88 Edinburgh East and Musselburgh 4.01 Edinburgh North and Leith 3.23 Edinburgh Pentlands 2.33 Edinburgh South 3.03 Edinburgh West 2.84 Falkirk East 3.65 Falkirk West 4.05 Galloway and Upper Nithsdale 4.55 Glasgow Anniesland 5.54 Glasgow Baillieston 5.84 Glasgow Cathcart 3.94 Glasgow Govan 3.99 Glasgow Kelvin 3.15 Glasgow Maryhill 5.59 Glasgow Pollok 5.61 Glasgow Rutherglen 4.54 Glasgow Shettleston 5.31 Glasgow Springburn 6.27 Gordon 2.84 Greenock and Inverclyde 4.29 Hamilton North and Bellshill 4.36 Hamilton South 4.18 Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber 3.97 Kilmarnock and Loudoun 5.08 Kirkcaldy 3.84 Linlithgow 4.10 Livingston 3.69 Midlothian 3.03 Moray 3.84 Motherwell and Wishaw 5.11 North East Fife 2.85 North Tayside 4.29 Ochil 3.49 Processed: 04-02-2009 18:44:15 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 416074 Unit: PAG2
Work and Pensions Committee: Evidence Ev 51
Caseload—number of claimants (Thousands) Orkney Islands 0.99 Paisley North 3.85 Paisley South 4.58 Perth 3.72 Ross, Skye and Inverness West 3.98 Roxburgh and Berwickshire 3.58 Shetland Islands 0.97 Stirling 2.93 Strathkelvin and Bearsden 2.85 Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale 3.00 West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine 2.44 West Renfrewshire 3.39 Western Isles 2.40 England/ Wales or Abroad 2,437.91 Notes: — Pension Credit was introduced on 6 October 2003 and replaced Minimum Income Guarantee (Income Support for people aged 60 or over). The vast majority of people who were previously in receipt of the Minimum Income Guarantee transferred to Pension Credit in October 2003. These Pension Credit statistics are produced on a diVerent basis to the Early Estimates. The latter are more timely but operational processing times mean that a number of claim commencements and terminations are not reflected in them. — Parliamentary Constituency of claimant (Westminster) These constituencies are used for the Westminster parliament. For the May 2005 General Election, the constituencies in Scotland changed. These constituencies are included in the tables from May 2005 onwards. Prior to that, these new constituencies are shown as missing.
Printed in the United Kingdom by The Stationery OYce Limited 2/2009 416074 19585