Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 November 2004
64 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the target for processing new claims for the carer’s allowance and one-parent family payments; the progress that has been achieved; his plans for improving target levels; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28451/04]
View answerMy Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are issued as quickly as possible having regard to the eligibility conditions which apply. The overriding consideration in processing claims is to ensure that customers receive their correct entitlement and decisions are not taken until all appropriate information is available.
Challenging key performance indicators are set for processing claims. In the case of carer's allowance, the performance target is to award 70% of claims within 13 weeks. For one-parent family, the target is to award 55% of unmarried cases within eight weeks and 65% of separated cases in 13 weeks. The average time currently taken to award carer's allowance is just under ten weeks, 74% of claims were awarded within 13 weeks in October 2004. The average processing times for one-parent family for September were 15 weeks in unmarried cases and 18 weeks in separated cases.
The time taken to process individual carer's or one-parent family payment applications varies with regard to the difficulty or otherwise in establishing the circumstances in each case. The majority of carer's and one-parent family payment applicants are in receipt of another social welfare payment while their claim is being processed. This payment will normally continue until their entitlement to one-parent family or carer's allowance payment is determined. However, every effort is made to process applications as quickly as possible and to minimise the time during which applicants have to rely on these alternative forms of support.
Targets and performance indicators are being reviewed in the context of my Department's modernisation action plan and, in this context, it is intended to devise a more comprehensive set of performance indicators and improved systems for measuring and reporting on inputs, outputs and outcomes for the future.
In addition, my Department's service delivery modernisation programme is under way. It is designed to use the most up to date technology and business models to improve delivery of services. This programme will facilitate integration of services and greater efficiency. While it will be some time before these benefits are fully achieved, I am concerned to ensure that service levels are maintained and improved in the meantime. To this end, my Department is engaged in an ongoing process to ensure that existing resources are prioritised to the greatest extent possible on front line service delivery.
In this regard, administration of one-parent family payments is being devolved to the Department's network of local offices. This is being done primarily to improve customer service. Claim processing times will be reduced through closer linkage with the local investigative officer network. In addition, lone parents will have more direct local contact with the Department's employment support services. As a result of these initiatives, claims for carer's allowance and for one-parent family payment are now being dealt with more quickly.
I welcome the Minister and congratulate him on his appointment. I hope we will see an improvement under his watch. Is he aware, from his own annual report, that the standard clearance time for one-parent family payments in 2001 was 65% in eight weeks? That changed to 50% in eight weeks in 2003. The achievement level in 2001 was 31% and was 21% in 2003. Is he aware that the standard clearance time for the carer's allowance was 80% in eight weeks in 2001 and 70% in nine weeks in 2003? The achievement levels fell rather than rose and went from 26% to 22%. Why is that the case? Why have the targets been changed? Does the Minister realise the stress, worry and problems carer's and one-parent families have in waiting for the claims to be processed? When will this benefit, about which he speaks, be achieved? When will local offices pay one-parent family payments?
Processing of one-parent family payment claims in local social welfare offices has successfully got under way in 17 local offices throughout the country. By the beginning of 2005, approximately half of all new claimants for one-parent family payments will have their claims dealt with in their local social welfare offices. Localisation of the service to other local offices is planned to proceed on a phased basis in 2005.
There is an unavoidable time lag involved in conducting the necessary investigations. There is a plethora of schemes and cross-checking, inquiries and investigations are necessary to enable decisions to be made. There is an onus on applicants to furnish all necessary documentation. The investigative and inquiry stage is time-consuming and every effort is being made in this regard. A number of improvements were recently introduced to directly affect the carer's allowance in terms of time. We have reviewed all the existing procedures. Applicants who are refused on medical eligibility grounds are provided with an interim decision. Applicants who are automatically medically approved can be fast-tracked. Priority is now being given to any claim that is pending for eight weeks or more and additional have staff have been assigned. There is quite a volume of work and every effort is being made to deal with all the applicants as quickly as possible.
How many applications for the one-parent family payment and the carer's allowance are pending and for how long are they pending? If the Minister cannot give me that information now, he can give it to me later but I would appreciate an indication now.
I will probably have to give the Deputy the number later. We received 6,570 applications for the carer's allowance this year. A total of 6,267 have been determined and another 611 claims were withdrawn, including some claims received towards the end of the year. Some 3,980 people were awarded the carer's allowance in the first instance and there are currently 1,140 new claims on hand. More than 70% of these have been received in the past eight weeks or so. I will get the Deputy the information on the lone-parent allowance.
