CHILD SUPPORT AGENCY PRAISED FOR IMPROVED SERVICE
1 Jul 2003 04:00 AM
Work and Pensions Minister Patricia Hollis today welcomed the
publication of the Independent Case Examiner's (ICE) annual report
(2002/03) on the Child Support Agency.
"The Child Support Agency has again made real improvements to the
service it offers its customers," Patricia Hollis said. "I am pleased
to see that the number of complaints to the ICE has fallen again this
year. This is particularly commendable in a year when the Agency has
been implementing a programme of reform.
"What's more, the Agency has made further improvements in the way it
handles complaints from customers since this report was written.
"Clearly any complaint referred to ICE is a complaint too many, but I
welcome the very real and positive steps the Agency has taken to
ensure that it offers customers a modern and professional service."
The report shows a five per cent reduction in the number of
complaints referred to ICE over the past year and praises the Agency
for its clear and timely communications with clients about child
support reform.
Doug Smith, Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency said:
"The Agency has worked closely with the Independent Case Examiner
over the past year and the success of this relationship is
acknowledged in this year's report. The Agency is making significant
improvements in its performance. We will continue to work to provide
a professional, efficient and sensitive service for all our clients."
Notes for Editors
Jodi Berg is the Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support
Agency and the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency.
The Independent Case Examiner provides an independent complaints
review service for the Child Support Agency. The Examiner will only
investigate cases after all internal complaints handling procedures
have been exhausted.
In 2002/03 ICE received 1,419 complaints, of which 702 were accepted
for investigation. Set against over a million cases being handled by
the Child Support Agency, complaints to ICE represented 0.14% of the
total caseload.
Complaints received by ICE fell by five per cent over the year,
whilst the Child Support Agency caseload fell by only half that
amount.
The Child Support Agency was one of the first to introduce an
independent element to its complaint handling processes - this
example has been followed by other government agencies in order to
provide a high level of customer service. The Agency is committed to
working closely with ICE.
Members of the public can obtain copies of the ICE report by calling
0151 801 8800 or from the ICE website at www.ind-case-exam.org.uk
from Tuesday 1 July 2003.
Public enquiries 020 7712 2171
Website www.dwp.gov.uk