asked Her Majesty's Government:
What estimate they have made of the cost of the proposed pilot of voice risk analysis technology for reviews of housing benefit and council tax benefit claims in Harrow Council. [HL3254]
The estimate for the cost to the department of the pilot of voice risk analysis for reviews of housing benefit and council tax benefit claims by Harrow Council is £62,800.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much they estimate that they will pay to Capita and DigiLog UK for their assistance in the development and implementation of the pilot of voice risk analysis technology for Harrow Council. [HL3255]
So far, the department has agreed to pay Harrow Council £62,800 to conduct the pilot. In this instance no payments will be made by the department direct to any contractor.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
How they intend to assess the results of the pilot of voice risk analysis technology in Harrow Council. [HL3256]
The pilot will be evaluated by the department in conjunction with Harrow Council. A range of statistical and other methods will be used to determine the effectiveness of the technology and ensure that it represents value for money.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
How they will ensure that the normal voice of an individual, as measured by the voice risk analysis, is the usual voice of the individual. [HL3257]
Voice risk analysis enables a risk score to be produced based on the changes in voice frequency made during a telephone call, which should not be affected by the caller adopting an unusual voice. However, the accuracy of the technology will be tested as part of the pilot.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the length of the contract given to Harrow Council to pilot voice risk analysis technology. [HL3258]
The department does not have a contract with Harrow Council but is making funding available to the council for a contract to pilot voice risk analysis scheduled to last for one year from 21 May 2007.
asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they plan to roll out voice risk analysis technology on Jobcentre Plus systems; and how much they estimate spending on this. [HL3283]
Jobcentre Plus will test how voice risk analysis technology works with its systems later this year. Any decision concerning plans to roll out on a wider scale and estimates of the cost will be made once a full evaluation of this test has been carried out.