Independent examiner praises NI agencies' complaint systems

Both the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency and the Social Security Agency have been praised for their quality of service to customers.

Independent Case Examiner, Ms Jodi Berg, praised both agencies in today's published Annual Report, the second of its kind, into complaints made about their work.

On presenting the report to John Hunter, the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Social Development, Ms Berg said: “I am delighted to report that this year, as last, I have been able to make positive comments about the way that both the Social Security Agency and the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency respond to customer concerns.

“In general, I find that both Agencies offer a very good quality of service to their customers. They have accepted the recommendations made last year and taken steps to make worthwhile changes.”

Mr Hunter added: “Acting on guidance from last year’s report we put in place measures to ensure that client’s concerns were considered in full. I am greatly encouraged that Ms Berg has seen a further improvement in both Agencies’ handling of complaints as this demonstrates that our new measures are effective.”

During the 2002-2003 business year, the commissioner received 22 complaints relating to the Social Security Office, 11 of which were accepted for investigation.

The most common areas of complaints included failure to supply information, correspondence and complaint handling.

In the same year, the Commissioner received 25 complaints about the Northern Ireland Child Support Agency, 15 of which were accepted for investigation.

Complaints investigated included arrears, assessment, compensation and failure to take appropriate action.

The Independent Case Examiner investigates cases where Agency customers have gone through the existing complaints procedures and are still dissatisfied.

Where appropriate, the Examiner makes recommendations to the Agency about putting matters right. She can also make systemic recommendations, by highlighting areas for improvement in the operational processes and procedures. In this way they can have a positive impact on the experience of users in the future.

(MB)