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Chapter 14: Department of Social Security

The Department of Social Security will actively contribute to the Government's overall aims of:

• tackling poverty;
• promoting opportunity; and
• modernising Government.

Objectives and performance targets

Objective I: ensuring the best start for all children and ending child poverty in 20 years.

1. Make substantial progress towards eradicating child poverty by reducing the number of children in poverty by at least a quarter by 2004. Joint target with HM Treasury

2. Introduce the reformed Child Support scheme for new cases by April 2002 so that, by April 2003 for such cases:

• the accuracy rate for assessments and reviews is not less than 90%;
• payment arrangements will have been established on average within six weeks; and
• the level of compliance will be at least 75%.

Objective II: promoting work as the best form of welfare for people of working age, whilst protecting the position of those in greatest need.

3. Increase employment over the economic cycle. Target contributes to Welfare to Work PSA.

4. Reduce the number of children in households with no one in work over the three years to 2004. Target contributes to Welfare to Work PSA.

5. Over the three years to 2004 increase the employment rates of disadvantaged areas and groups, taking account of the economic cycle - people with disabilities, lone parents, ethnic minorities and the over 50s, the 30 local authority districts with the poorest initial labour market position - and reduce the difference between their employment rates and the overall rate. Target contributes to Welfare to Work PSA.

Objective III: combating poverty and promoting security and independence in retirement for today's and tomorrow's pensioners.

6. Reform second tier pension provision, working with pension providers and employers, so that by 2004:

• stakeholder pensions have given more people access to good value funded second pensions;
• two million carers and two million disabled people with broken work records have, for the first time, started to build up a second pension; and
• 14 million low and moderate earners have started to build up a better second pension than would be possible under SERPS.

7. Introduce an improved, integrated modern service for delivering benefits and information to pensioners. This service will by 2004:

• reduce the average cost of processing retirement pension claims and maintaining the caseload by 20%;
• reduce the average cost of processing Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) claims and maintaining the caseload by 15%;
• ensure that 90% of MIG claims are processed within 13 days once evidence requirements are met; and
• reduce by 20% the amount of MIG that is incorrectly paid.

(Target also contributes to Objective IV.)

Objective IV: modernising welfare delivery so as to improve the accessibility and accuracy of services.

8. Make significant progress towards modernising welfare delivery so that:

• by 2004, 85% of customers have their benefits paid into their bank account;
• by 2004, 60% of the computer systems which support the delivery of pensions and income support have been replaced;
• by 2004, to have made available an electronic claims facility, for Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and Incapacity Benefit; and
• from 2001, to commence the roll-out of new IT equipment to all staff dealing with customers so as to improve the services provided.

9. Reduce by 50% losses from fraud and error in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance by 2006, with a 25% reduction by 2004.

Value for money

10. Increase the efficiency of social security administration through:

• improving the performance of the Child Support Agency in line with target 2;
• improving the efficiency of services to pensioners in line with target 7;
• improving the efficiency of services to working age claimants in line with target 8 and through the new working age agency;
• reducing error and fraud in line with target 9.

Who is responsible for delivery?

The Secretary of State for Social Security is responsible for the delivery of this PSA. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is jointly responsible for delivering target 1. Targets 3-5 arise out of the Welfare to Work and ONE review. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Social Security and the Secretary of State for Education and Employment are jointly responsible for the delivery of target 3. The Secretary of State for Social Security and the Secretary of State for Education and Employment are jointly responsible for the delivery of targets 4 and 5.

External links

• Technical Agreement

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