Welfare Reform Bill

Like the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, we want to hold onto the flexibility that not having this in the Bill would give us. However, noble Lords have put forward some interesting ideas. My noble friend and I will certainly consider them over the summer and come back after our considerations, but I cannot give any guarantees that we would move any further than I have stated today. The rights and duties of customers will vary with their individual circumstances, as the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, said. Indeed, it is an objective of the Bill to provide increasingly personalised support for individual customers in recognition of the fact that each of them has unique personal circumstances. While some broad principles will apply across the board, many of the detailed arrangements between the department and its customers will reflect what is appropriate in each person’s particular circumstances. We have already provided a range of information to customers about their rights and responsibilities and the help which is available to them. For example, the specific requirements of each benefit are set out in leaflets and on claim forms, and every JSA claimant is given a booklet which gives them their signing-on time and sets out the JSA conditionality requirements. We accept that we need to further inform our customers and to empower people more in the whole process. We need to make customers feel that they are far more in charge of the process than many feel they are at present. The amendment and the following debate actively help us to look at that in more detail. Noble Lords will probably be aware of the discussion on a similar amendment during deliberations in another place. Following these discussions we have had some constructive exchanges with a wide group of stakeholders to see what more can be done to ensure that customers understand what to expect from Jobcentre Plus. We have incorporated a number of suggestions into a Jobcentre Plus leaflet, which brings together information about the service standards customers should expect and what they should do if they are not satisfied. Again, as with the mock-up charter, I shall ensure that Members of the Committee receive the draft leaflet that has emerged from the discussions with stakeholders over recent times. The leaflet is in the final stages of drafting and stakeholder feedback has been positive. We are now looking at how to distribute the leaflet in a way that best meets the needs of our customers. This work will underpin the development of the charter that I have set out. The amendment also proposes the establishment of a new role of employment services ombudsman to hear claimants’ complaints against providers of employment services in relation to rights and duties under the Bill. Detailed provisions already exist to inform customers of what they are entitled to, and of their right to seek a review of decisions made and to have their case heard by a tribunal. In addition, through the DWP’s contracts, those providing services on behalf of the department are required to provide tailored help to support customers and improve their ability to access sustainable work. Customers already have the opportunity to raise complaints against providers. They can complain to the provider and if not satisfied with the result may complain to the department. Complaints will be investigated at a district level and escalated to DWP contract managers where appropriate. DWP contract managers are responsible for ensuring that providers meet the obligations within their contracts, including effective service delivery to our full range of customers. This is an effective contract management process and customers’ complaints and quality of service delivery is integral to this process. Customer service and complaints feed into the quality assessment of contract delivery and formal provider performance reviews. In supplementing this process, Jobcentre Plus holds provision engagement meetings with providers. A key feature of these meetings is the customer’s own experience, where complaints and issues will be discussed and improvement actions agreed. Contracted provision is already exposed to extensive independent assessment—for example, the training provision within the new deals is subject to adult learning quality inspections by Ofsted in England. Customer experience and the quality of the service to our customers are integral to this assessment. We will be reviewing provider guidance to ensure that it is explicit in terms of complaints procedures and escalation routeways. If necessary, customers unhappy with their treatment by providers may have the matter investigated by our independent complaints examiner, and ultimately by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Ann Abraham, using our normal arrangements. In this way, these customers are treated the same as those dealt with by Jobcentre Plus advisers. We believe that the creation of an employment services ombudsman as set out in the amendment would duplicate many of the functions already covered by the Parliamentary Ombudsman, to whom DWP customers can already apply, and that could lead only to unnecessary bureaucracy and confusion. Such a fundamental change to the role of the ombudsman would also require a significant amendment to the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 to avoid confusion and duplicated provision. I apologise for the length of my response. This is an important issue that goes to the heart of empowering DWP customers across the range of benefit provision. I hope noble Lords will recognise that we entirely agree with the motivations behind the amendment and are taking action on the key issues that it raises. This is work in progress but it is definitely heading in the right direction.