Insurance Agency Business Plan

Business Plan 2008 – 2009 CONTENTS Page Foreword by the Chief Executive 3 1. Introduction - The Business Our Organisation 4 5 2. Our Vision & Values 6 3. Government Priorities 7 4. Our Priorities 8 - 12 5. Business Plan Targets 13 - 17 6. Additional Key Targets 18 - 20 Annexes: Annex 1 Annex 2 Annex 3 Annex 4 The role of the Social Security Agency Resources Workload Assumptions Corporate Balanced Scorecard 21-23 24 25 26 2 FOREWORD BY THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE I am pleased to present the Social Security Agency’s Business Plan for 200809. Our priorities for the coming year are broadly consistent with those in recent years as we continue to build on our achievements to date. Tackling poverty is one key priority in the Programme for Government. The Agency is committed to ensuring that all members of society get the benefit to which they are entitled. Our first priority remains therefore to ensure that we maintain and build on our service delivery standards. As a consequence of Budget 2008 the Agency is faced with a requirement to deliver further efficiencies. This represents a major challenge for us as we strive to deliver quality services to our customers. On top of this the Agency will be taking forward a significant programme of modernisation and change, not least of which will be the introduction of the new Employment and Support Allowance which is due to commence in October 2008. Delivering change will therefore be the heart of the Agency’s priorities in the incoming year. For us to succeed in these circumstances, it is therefore critical that we continue to challenge how we do things and aim to improve our business processes whilst focusing on the needs of our customers. BRYAN DAVIS Chief Executive 3 1. INTRODUCTION The Social Security Agency is an executive agency of the Department for Social Development. The Business The Social Security Agency’s main business is to:         assess and pay social security benefits accurately and securely; give advice and information about these benefits; support people by helping them move closer to work; process benefit reviews and appeals; prevent and detect benefit fraud, prosecute offenders and recover any benefit which has been paid incorrectly; recover benefit paid in compensation cases; assess people’s financial circumstances if they are applying for legal aid; and provide services to clients in Great Britain on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions. The Social Security Agency delivers its services to:   the people of Northern Ireland, with a population of some 1.7 million; and the people living in 3 Districts within London. Annex 1 provides more detail. 4 Our Organisation The Agency is managed by a six-member Board as follows: Chief Executive Bryan Davis Director of Operations Dr Colin Sullivan Director of Business Development Colum Boyle Acting Director of Medical Services Dr Brian Wallace Acting Director of Finance and Planning Stephen Boyd Acting Director of Human Resources John Sinnamon 5 2. OUR VISION & VALUES The Agency aims to provide a fair system of financial help to those in need. Our vision is to deliver a high quality, customer focused welfare service in Northern Ireland which will provide the right support to the right people at the right time. Toward the achievement of this vision, we work to values shared with our colleagues in the Department:    Integrity; Political Impartiality; and Fairness. This vision and these values will influence how we approach our task and how we deal with people inside and outside the Agency. 6 3. GOVERNMENT PRIORITIES The Agency’s Business Plan has its origins in the Department for Social Development’s Corporate Plan. This plan sets out the key aims and objectives for the Department in the coming year and takes account of the Programme for Government 2008-2011 which outlines the Executive’s priorities and key plans for 2008-2011. Each Department takes forward planned outcomes for the citizen in the form of Public Service Agreements (PSAs). The Agency’s contribution to the delivery of key targets and milestones is included within: PSA 7 - MAKING PEOPLE’S LIVES BETTER The Agency has developed all its key priorities to contribute to the delivery of a programme across Government to reduce poverty and address inequality and disadvantage. We aim to combat poverty by continuing to work with the Department for Employment and Learning in supporting people to move from welfare to work, and by promoting benefit entitlement through targeting the most disadvantaged groups. We will contribute to the delivery of high quality customer services to the most disadvantaged of our society by:  Ensuring that benefit claimants receive the benefit payments to which they are entitled.   Continuing the Agency’s Benefit Uptake Strategy. Continuing to modernise benefit services. 7 4. OUR PRIORITIES STRATEGIC CONTEXT The Agency’s performance has increased significantly over recent years against a backdrop of a major efficiency programme which saw a 2.5% per annum reduction in our budgets and a loss of 674 staff over the past three years. Despite these cuts the Agency has delivered a number of significant reforms and achieved improved operational performance against most of the key target areas. A significant amount of improvement work has taken place in the Agency to modernise benefit delivery and to implement the Government’s Welfare Reform and Modernisation Programme in Northern Ireland. The Agency recognises the need to transform our organisational structure and business processes to a modern 21st century business model. As the pace of change quickens, the agility and flexibility of the Agency to respond to rapid change will become even more important to ensure that the organisation is able to operate more efficiently with reduced resources. The budget settlement for 2008-2011 requires that we achieve efficiencies of 5% annually. We will therefore have to target and manage our resources efficiently and effectively and find the most cost effective means of meeting our objectives with the finite resources available. During the coming year we will build on achievements to date to deliver a further phase of the welfare modernisation programme. Major challenges for the Agency in 2008-2009 include the introduction of the new Employment and Support Allowance, changes to the way we deliver our pension services through the Pension Transformation Programme; in addition the outcome of the Strategic Businesses Review will see the establishment of a new resilient and viable model of service delivery which will maintain and improve services to our customers and establish a platform for the delivery of future efficiencies. We will also be impacted by the introduction of shared services as a result of the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) reform programme. Delivery of our 8 business and change programme will continue to involve closer working with colleagues in other Agencies and Government Departments, including the Department for Employment and Learning and the Department for Work and Pensions. Delivering this programme, with reduced resources and increasing customer expectations, will require us to critically examine how we do things so that we can maintain and improve our service. We recognise that achievement of our business plan objectives depends on having a highly skilled and effective workforce and that these changes will have a direct impact on them. We will continue to keep our staff informed and involved in how we manage these changes. In addition, we will ensure that staff are given the right support and training and are in a position to deliver the high quality services our customers deserve. Our 5 key priorities for the period ahead are intrinsically linked to the 3 actions we will take to deliver our Public Service Agreement commitments. Whilst broadly consistent with previous years, this year our focus is on moving forward from preparing for change to delivering change. . Our key priorities are:      Delivering Better Customer Service Delivering Change Promoting Benefit Entitlement Reducing Fraud and Error Debt Recovery 9 Delivering Better Customer Services Our frontline staff have responsibility for assessing and paying social security benefits accurately and securely. They also provide an information and advice service. Financial accuracy and clearance time targets have been established across the 6 main benefit areas. The focus over the coming year will be to continue to manage performance and continuously improve decision making and accuracy in order to meet client expectations and reduce financial error. In striving to deliver these standards the Agency will be delivering its business in a climate of reduced resources and numbers of staff and implementing major reform projects. The transitional phase of the Agency’s change programme has the potential impact on service delivery right across the full range of our benefits and their associated targets. Delivering Change The Agency is implementing a programme of modernisation and reform to improve the effectiveness of internal processes and provide a more modernised, accessible and integrated service for our client groups. The Agency will maintain and embed our culture of continuous improvement throughout the organisation by making the customer the focus of our process design. This will add value for customers and reduce waste in the system. The Agency faces a number of challenges including the introduction of the new Employment and Support Allowance benefit in October 2008 which will be paid to all new customers making a claim due to a health condition. We will introduce changes in the delivery of our Social Fund, Pension Services and Medical Support Services, and modernise the way benefits are paid through the Method of Payment reform. The Strategic Business Review will commence implementation and lay the foundations for potential efficiencies from a move to a more centralised processing arrangement. The modernisation of the infrastructure and processes of the Civil Service such as 1 0 human resources, finance and ICT will also impact on the Agency during this period. The key delivery vehicle for our modernisation programme will be our staff. We will ensure that we have the right number of staff with the right skills to deliver these new initiatives. We will also keep our staff informed about the progress of each project and how we intend to manage the changes which affect them. We also recognise the need to engage in meaningful and timely consultation with Trade Union Side throughout the process. Successful delivery will also involve working with colleagues in other Agencies and Government Departments. Promoting Benefit Entitlement Tackling poverty is a key issue for Government in Northern Ireland, and the Agency needs to continue its efforts to combat poverty. The Agency is committed to promoting benefit uptake across several client groupings including older people, those with a disability, carers and families to ensure that our clients receive the financial assistance and services to which they are entitled Our Programme Protection activity will continue to focus on areas of highest risk including the specific targeting of cases likely to be subject to underpayment. This activity has already led to the payment of an additional £31.5m of benefit payment over the past three years Reducing Fraud and Error The Agency is committed to ensuring that benefits are correctly paid. Reductions in fraud and error are delivered through a robust benefit security strategy. The strategy is working with Fraud and Error reduced from £109m (3.26%) in 2002/03 to £60m (1.7%) in 2006. 1 1 Debt Recovery The Agency has responsibility for the recovery of public funds where benefits have been incorrectly paid out through fraud or error; and the recovery of any specified Social Security Benefits and Health Service Costs which are paid as a result of an accident, injury or disease for which compensation has been awarded. We will continue in our efforts to record and account for overpayments, and to be effective in securing recovery when appropriate. 1 2 5. BUSINESS PLAN TARGETS The Agency’s Business Plan has been developed on the basis of reduced resources as detailed in Annex 2. Our workload assumptions are detailed in Annex 3 and the Agency’s Corporate Balanced Scorecard is attached at Annex 4. As outlined previously, the Agency will continue to target resources on 5 priority areas but with reduced resources available. Our 5 priority areas and associated business plan targets are as follows: Delivering Better Customer Services We will manage performance and continuously improve decision making and accuracy in order to meet customer expectations and reduce financial losses. By March 2009 we will achieve within tolerance the following overall financial accuracy targets of total expenditure in relation to: Benefit Income Support Incapacity Benefit Job Seekers Allowance State Pension State Pension Credit Disability Living Allowance Accuracy target (%) 99 99 99 99 98 98 1 3 By March 2009 we will achieve the average actual clearance times in the following benefits: Benefit Average actual clearance times (days) Income Support Incapacity Benefit Job Seekers Allowance State Pension State Pension Credit Disability Living Allowance 12 22 12 18 151 47 During this year the Pension Service will be impacted by the introduction of the Pensions Transformation Programme (PTP). As a result the targets listed for pension clearance refer to non - PTP claims. Delivering Change The Agency’s Modernisation Programme is key, not only to improving public services but also to tackling social and economic problems. We will continue to work closely with our colleagues in the Department for Social Development, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Employment and Learning and the voluntary and community sector. 1 The increase in the average actual clearance times (AACT) for State Pension Credit is due to a change in the methodology used to calculate performance and the exclusion of Central Service Agency health cost claims from this calculation. 1 4 During this planning year we will continue to deliver key modernisation projects including:  By October 2008 to have implemented the new Employment and Support Allowance.  By December 2008 to have implemented a new operating model for the delivery of Social Fund.  By March 2009 to have introduced a new operating model in State Pension and State Pension Credit to deal with both claims and changes of circumstances.  Finalise the preferred option for the Strategic Business Review by December 2008 and commence implementation by April 2009.  By December 2008 to have commenced the final phase of the roll out of Job and Benefits service in line with the Strategic Business Review.  By March 2009 to have obtained approval for contract award for the revised Medical Support Structures. We will contribute to the delivery of shared NICS corporate services such as financial and accounting services through Account NI; human resources services through HR Connect; and complete the implementation of Records NI to move to full electronic records across the NICS. 1 5 Promoting Benefit Entitlement There are two elements which contribute to the promotion of benefit entitlement these are Benefit Uptake and Underpayment. We will take each forward as follows: Benefit Uptake We will:  Implement a benefit uptake programme in relation to client groups, including contacting 25,000 people this year with a 6% successful claim rate for our comprehensive assessments. Underpayment We will:  Ensure that underpayments remain a key focus of our Programme Protection activity. Reducing Fraud and Error We are committed to ensuring that benefits are paid only to those who are entitled to them. We have a robust strategy for tackling fraud and error when it occurs in the social security system. The strategy focuses on prevention, detection, correction of errors and where appropriate prosecution of 1 6 fraudsters. Adherence to the strategy will deliver the necessary public confidence in benefit administration. In order to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to reducing fraud and error we will:  Reduce the amount of fraud and error by 5% compared to the 07/08 outturn. Debt Recovery The Agency recovers public funds which have been incorrectly paid out through fraud and error.  By March 2009 we will recover £9m of benefits incorrectly paid out through fraud and error.  By March 2009 we will recover £7 m of benefits which have subsequently been repaid through compensation. 1 7 6. ADDITIONAL KEY TARGETS In addition to the PSA commitments and supporting Business Plan targets the Agency has a series of additional targets across other areas of the business to secure improvements in business performance, client service and in how we treat our staff. Internal Control We will continue to maintain a sound system of internal control by:  Ensuring, throughout the year, that controls are in place to provide acceptable (satisfactory) assurance levels of governance and control.  Ensuring that we protect and handle the personal data of our customers securely. The aim of the Programme for Government is to ‘maintain investment in front line public services and release resources needed to meet new priorities and challenges’. The Agency is essentially a ‘front office’ provider of services and we remain committed to providing good quality public services in a cost effective manner. The Agency’s reduced budget allocation for 2008-2011 will require that we target and manage our resources efficiently and effectively. During 2008/09 we will:  Deliver £1.8m of cash releasing savings 1 8 Sustainability The Agency is committed to embedding the principles of sustainable development in all of our work. We will:  Deliver sustainable development action plan targets in the 6 key areas: waste, water, energy, estate, procurement and travel in line with Departmental priorities. HR Strategy The Agency recognises that delivery of its business at a time of major modernisation, transformation and an increasing emphasis on greater efficiency depends on having a highly skilled and committed workforce. Against a backcloth of significant change we will consider and address the Human Resource impact of this by:  Developing workforce management and staff re-deployment strategies to provide effective Human Resource support for change.    Ensuring we have the right number of staff with the right skills, at the right time to deliver our services. Reducing average staff absence levels to 11.8 days per person. Maintaining a positive working relationship with Agency Trade Union side through meaningful and timely consultation / negotiation. 1 9 Training and Development The Agency will implement a focused program of training and development designed to enable staff to be trained and proficient. We will:   Support our people to develop the knowledge and skills for their current role. Support them in developing the knowledge and skills they need when their job role changes. 2 0 Annex 1 THE ROLE OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY AGENCY Services provided to the people of Northern Ireland We are responsible for managing the following social security benefits.                  Attendance Allowance Disability Living Allowance Incapacity Benefit Income Support Benefits under the Industrial Injuries Scheme Carer’s Allowance Jobseeker’s Allowance (income and contribution based) Lump-sum payments (Christmas bonus) Maternity Allowance State Pension Credit State Pension Over 80s Pension Severe Disablement Allowance Social Fund payments, grants and loans Bereavement Benefits Cold-weather payments Employment Support Allowance (from October 2008) We are also responsible for:        providing information, advice and help to the public and employers; recovering Social Fund loans and funeral payments; preparing and presenting appeals to appeals tribunals; deciding on operational policy relating to social security fraud and for developing and putting in place a strategy to prevent and detect social security fraud and abuse and prosecuting offenders; preventing, raising and recovering overpayments of benefits; recovering social security payments from compensation awards; and working with social security authorities in other countries to decide who is entitled to benefits for those who are living, or have lived, abroad. Services provided for the Department for Work and Pensions in Great Britain We are responsible for delivering the services provided by:  the Belfast Benefit Delivery Centre; and 2 1  the Lisahally Processing Unit. Services include:  Processing Jobcentre Plus benefit work for Brent, Harrow and Hillingdon, South East London and parts of North London.  Dealing with new claims, reviews, adjudication and appeals for Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance and Maternity Allowance.  Making third party deductions for housing and fuel costs.  Providing a Debt Management centre for calculating overpayments for Income Support and Jobseekers Allowance for all Districts of the London region.  Delivering a telephone service, providing both enquiries and information services to customers and front-end Local Service Outlets (LSOs) Other services We are responsible for handling the following services.  Health service charges – we assess and issue certificates of entitlement to help with prescriptions, dental treatment, wigs and fabric supports, travel to 2 2 hospital for treatment, sight tests and vouchers for glasses or contact lenses.   Assisted prison visits – we assess entitlement and pay travelling expenses, to visit a partner or close relative in prison. Housing and fuel costs – for customers who have been supplied with housing or fuel credit, we deduct the repayments from their benefits and pay directly to the organisations concerned. Legal Aid Assessment – we assess customers’ financial circumstances if they are applying for legal aid. We provide relevant information to employers and other organisations to help them to decide on entitlement to, and pay, Housing Benefit, Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, Criminal Injuries Compensation, free school meals and educational clothing. We provide a National Insurance Number application and allocation service on behalf of the HM Revenue and Customs. We provide information on and pay Disability Living Allowance (higherrate mobility component) to Motability. Vehicle Excise Duty Exemption – we issue certificates of entitlement to people who receive Disability Living Allowance (higher-rate mobility component). Training Allowance – we pay benefit based training allowances on behalf of the Department for Employment and Learning to those taking part in recognised Department for Employment and Learning schemes.       Data Sharing with other Government Departments – we may give information to certain other organisations as the law permits, to check the accuracy of the information, prevent or detect crime, protect public funds and use in research statistics.RESOURCES Annex 2 2008 to 2009 £ million Resources For Northern Ireland services 157.8 2 3 Welfare Reform and Modernisation Programme For Great Britain services Capital For Northern Ireland services Welfare Reform and Modernisation Programme For Great Britain services For Northern Ireland services including Welfare Reform and Modernisation Programme For Great Britain services 35.9 17.5 0.5 64.9 0 Non-Cash 6.4 0.8 WORKLOAD ASSUMPTIONS Annex 3 Average Weekly Figures Main benefits Disability Living Allowance Claims Activity 2008 to 09 449 173684 338 157 584 113287 68 604 98070 7388 1131 25230 31 Incapacity Benefit Income Support Jobseeker’s Allowance Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance Other benefits Attendance Liveload (monthly average) (see note 2) Renewals Appeals Claims Liveload (monthly average) Appeals Claims Liveload (monthly average) Change of circumstances Claims Register (monthly average) (see note 1) Appeals Activity Claims 157 2 4 Allowance Carers Allowance State Pension Pension Credit Bereavement Benefit Social Fund Claims Claims Claims Claims Crisis loans Budgeting loans Community-care grants Reviews Activity 239 436 157 30 2054 2541 951 211 Other activities Recovering Requests for certificates 1494 compensation Overpayments Caseload (each year) 54774 Agency Benefit 237 Claims Note 1: - Liveload refers to customers currently receiving benefit. Note 2: - The Jobseeker’s Allowance register includes the Job Training Programme and Welfare to Work register. 2 5 CLIENTS To provide a high quality service which meets our clients’ needs By March 09 to achieve:  Financial accuracy and Clearance times figures for our 6 main benefits of:Financial Accuracy IS 99% DLA 98% JSA 99% SP 99% IB 99% SP 98% C Clearance Times IS 12 days DLA JSA 12 days SP IB 22 days SPC       By March 09 to:  Implement Benefit Uptake programme in relation to identified client groups, including contacting 25,000 people this year with a 6% successful claim rate for our comprehensive assessments.  Ensure that underpayments remain a key focus of our Programme Protection activity    PROCESSES To deliver strategies to modernise services and protect public funds. By October 2008 to have implemented the new Employment and Support Allowance. By December 2008 to have implemented a new operating model for the delivery of Social Fund. By March 2009 to have introduced a new operating model in State Pension and State Pension Credit to deal with both claims and changes of circumstances. Finalise the preferred option for the Strategic Business Review by December 2008 and commence implementation by April 2009. By December 2008 to have commenced the final phase of the roll out of Job and Benefits service in line with the Strategic Business Review. By March 2009, to have obtained approval for contract award for the revised Medical Support Structures. Participate in the NICS reform programme By March 2009 to recover £9m of benefits paid out incorrectly through fraud and error and recover £7m of benefits which have been subsequently repaid through compensation. Reduce the amount of fraud and error by 5% of 07/08 outturn. 47 days 18 days 15 days To tackle poverty and encourage social inclusion through a commitment to promoting benefit entitlement FINANCE To maintain a sound system of internal control    Throughout the year ensure controls are in place to provide acceptable assurance on levels of governance and control; and Ensuring that we protect and handle the personal data of our customers securely. Deliver sustainable development action plan targets in the 6 key areas: waste, water, energy, estate, procurement and travel.       OUR PEOPLE To develop appropriate Human Resource strategies across a range of activities including organisational culture, behaviours and leadership Developing workforce management and staff re-deployment strategies to provide effective Human Resource support for change. Ensuring we have the right number of staff with the right skills, at the right time to deliver our services. Reducing average staff absence levels to 11.8 days per person. Maintaining a positive working relationship with Agency Trade Union side through meaningful and timely consultation / negotiation. Support staff to develop the knowledge and skills for their current role. Support staff in developing the knowledge and skills they need when their job role changes. To live within budgets:  During 2008 – 2009 we will deliver £1.8m of cash releasing savings 26