Questions 73-79 (Mr Ian Davidson): Joint Working Partnerships for face to face visiting services; The Pension Service and Local Authorities

  A Joint Working Partnership is a local operational partnership between The Pension Service Local Service, Local Authorities (LA) and the Voluntary Sector. Its aims are to deliver face to face services to people who cannot access services through other channels, to minimise the number of times someone has to provide financial / benefit related information to the partner organisations, and to promote take up of related services.

  Customers may be seen when they call in at a LA or Voluntary Sector office, through an appointment at a location in their community, eg at a library, or through home visits. Visits are usually carried out by a member of the joint team that covers the geographical area of the Local Authority and the team member may be from the Pension Service, the Local Authority or the partner organisation.

  The customer provides information only once as one member of staff within the partnership conducts the information gathering and assistance with claim completion across all state benefits and entitlements.

  The joint team also helps customers to access additional complementary services such as home adaptations, home insulation, mobility aids, audio books and home gardening services. Between 1 April 2007 and 30 November 2007, nearly 221,000 customer referrals were made for complementary services.

CUSTOMERS BENEFITING FROM THE SERVICE

  The joint team visits vulnerable, hard-to reach customers who may not always be aware of the benefits and services they are entitled to. Most joint teams cover all age groups but the majority of the visits are to older people. Referrals come from social care workers, health professionals, carers, the voluntary sector and The Pension Service contact centres. In addition the Pension Service uses its customer records to offer visits to people it believes may have an unclaimed entitlement.

  A vast majority events that can lead to a change in benefit, such as bereavement or hospitalisation, result in the customer contacting social services or voluntary organisations rather than The Pension Service. The development of partnerships within the local community has resulted in an increase in referrals from partners direct to The Pension Service Local Service, thereby improving access for the most vulnerable pensioners.

  Nearly 900,000 home visits were carried out during the 2006/7 financial year.

SERVICES COVERED DURING HOME VISITS

  During home visits, customers are offered benefit entitlement checks, provided with information on a range of benefits such as State Pension, Pension Credit, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Housing and Council Tax Benefit and are helped with completing appropriate application forms.

  This maximises the opportunity for customers to discuss all of their financial needs in one face-to-face meeting and also receive help, and with access to the complementary services, such as referrals to Warm Front Home Energy and home adaptations.

EXAMPLE OF FRONT OFFICE SHARED SERVICE

  You asked me to provide you and the NAO with a note showing evidence of how the usage of the internet has led to the redeployment of resources to meet citizens" needs. I did say that there is no direct audit trail but there is evidence of the development of front line services in local authorities. This evidence can be found in a report produced by the Improvement & Development Agency (IDeA) on Front Office Shared Services (FOSS).

  The full FOSS report can be found on the IDeA website at:

http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/aio/6414747

  There are also a number of case studies on the IDeA website at:

http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=6440795

  These case studies include examples of:

—  Website rationalisation at the local level (see Dorset for You—http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/aio/6424429)

—  Multi-agency service access through a single gateway (see Rushcliffe First Contact Signposting Scheme—http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/aio/6424468)

—  One-stop-shop services (see Staffordshire Moorlands Councils Connect—http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/aio/6424495)

  The case studies in the FOSS report all show developments in shared services provision with the emphasis on improving front line services provision in response to the needs of service users.

  For specific evidence of how usage of the internet can transform service provision I would like to draw your attention to the "e@sy connects: e-services for South Yorkshire" case study http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/aio/6424583. In this case study local authorities work with primary care trusts, emergency services and the third sector to deliver services over the web, digital TV and mobile telephony.