This is a matter for the chief executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Terry Moran, dated 19 June 2007:
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the removal of 180 posts at the Carers' Allowance Unit in Preston on services provided by the unit.
The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
As you will be aware, as part of the Efficiency Challenge all government departments have imposed headcount targets for the period ending March 2008. The headcount target for the Disability and Carers Service for 2007/08 is 5063. The headcount allocation for the Carers Allowance Unit (CAU) for 2007/08 is 723. This represents a reduction of 180 on current headcount.
Along with all government departments, we are modernising our service delivery and we have specific targets to improve efficiency and reduce the number of people we employ. We are well on the way to meeting both these objectives and, in the CAU, we are doing so by comprehensively reviewing our organisational structure, workflow processes and our handling of customer enquiries. Additionally, we believe we can make further improvements to our productivity and the quality of the work that we do.
In support of this stretching agenda, we have employed lean' techniques. These have been used in recent years in HMRC, where they have supported a successful efficiency programme. Early trials in the CAU this year have been successful and we have decided that we will now roll out the lean' approach right across the unit. The approach includes additional checking to ensure right first time quality, thus preventing rework, and improving service to customers. Although there may be short-term disruption as staff are trained and adapt to new ways of working, we expect to standardise and improve the service, rather than allow any deterioration.
We are an agency that continues to focus on delivering improved services to disabled people and carers, and we will ensure that any such short-term disruption to service as a result of headcount reductions is kept to a minimum through constant monitoring of the situation and acting upon what our customers tell us.
I hope this is helpful.
This is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Terry Moran, dated 18 June 2007:
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what commitments he has made to the Public and Commercial Services Union in relation to the Disability and Carers Service for Carers’ Allowance in Preston, Lancashire.
The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
Managers in the Disability and Carers Service (DCS) are committed to full consultation with the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Union on all issues that affect the members of that Union.
As you will be aware, as part of the Efficiency Challenge all government departments have imposed headcount targets for the period ending March 2008. The headcount target for the Disability and Carers Service for 2007/08 is 5063. The headcount allocation for the Carers Allowance Unit (CAU) for 2007/08 is 723, which represents a reduction of 180 on current headcount.
To help achieve that target we looked to employ lean' techniques in the CAU and, following a successful trial, the ‘lean’ approach is now being implemented across the Unit. This approach includes additional checking to ensure right first time quality and improving services for customers.
Managers in the CAU have held a number of meetings with representatives of PCS to discuss ‘lean’ techniques since the work started in December 2006, and other meetings have been held to discuss the headcount reductions in the CAU. Since 1st April 2007, CAU managers have met PCS representatives on 6 occasions and a further 2 meetings are planned for later in June. In addition, following a request from PCS representatives, the CAU Manager attended a meeting of PCS members organised by the Union to discuss ‘lean’ and answer questions.
The CAU managers consult PCS on various other issues, and in addition to the meetings described above consultation has taken place through written communications on over 30 occasions since 1st April 2007.
I hope this is helpful.