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1701031

	registered interest
	date	15/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time taken to assign to an investigator a complaint to the Independent Case Examiner.
	tabling member constituency	Wakefield
	tabling member printed	Simon Lightwood
	uin	21869
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2024 answer text <p>The rate at which complaints can be allocated to an investigator is dependent on multiple factors including the volume and complexity of complaints received, as well as available investigative resource.</p><p> </p><p>ICE is a demand led service and continues to receive high complaint intake volumes. It has experienced a 37% increase in referrals since April 2022, with an 18% increase in the 2023/24 operational year. Not all referrals into ICE are accepted for investigation. ICE has experienced an 83% increase in the volume of cases it has accepted since April 2020, with a 9% increase in the 2023/24 operational year.</p><p> </p><p>The ICE office continues to review its process and operating model and continuously seeks opportunities to maximise productivity, ensuring it operates with optimum investigative resource. In the past 20 months (August 2022 – March 2024) resource levels at the ICE office have increased by 18%. The unit is operating at 99.11% of its agreed headcount.</p><p> </p><p>The Office has reduced the volume of cases awaiting allocation to an investigator by 49% over the 2023/24 operational year. The combined number of cases being handled by the ICE Office at the end of March 2024 was 1462, this represents a 33% reduction from March 2023 despite the high intake levels experienced.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 18/04/2024 15:11:18 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4943 label Biography information for Simon Lightwood

1183046

	registered interest
	date	05/03/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the average time taken for claimants to receive a decision from the Independent Case Examiner.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	25695
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/03/2020 answer text <p>The table below provides details of the average time taken for complainants to receive a decision from the Independent Case Examiner’s (ICE) Office, in the current reporting year (April 2019 to February 2020).</p><p> </p><p>When the ICE Office accepts a complaint for investigation, it will consider whether it can be resolved by brokering a solution between the complainant and the relevant department or supplier, without having to request evidence to inform an investigation. If the complaint can’t be resolved, the evidence will be requested and the case will await allocation to an Investigation Case Manager (ICM). Cases are dealt with by dedicated teams and are usually brought into investigation in strict date order.</p><p> </p><p>Following an investigation of the evidence the complaint may be settled, if agreement can be reached on actions that satisfy the complainant. If the complaint cannot be settled, the Independent Case Examiner will issue a report detailing findings and any recommendations for redress.</p><p> </p><p>The cases that reach the Independent Case Examiner are the most complex and investigations will not be compromised in order to be completed within certain timescales. We keep people updated about the timings involved with their case and the vast majority of complainants are satisfied with the service they receive.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Description</p></td><td><p>Average time in weeks</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Resolution (from acceptance to case closure)</p></td><td><p>6 weeks (against a target of 8 weeks)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Time taken to allocate case to ICM (from date of acceptance)</p></td><td><p>59 weeks</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Settlement (from allocation to ICM to case closure)</p></td><td><p>8 weeks (against a target of 15 weeks)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>ICE Report (from allocation to ICM to case closure)</p></td><td><p>23.5 weeks (against a target of 20 weeks)</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 13/03/2020 12:07:59 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

1178448

	registered interest
	date	13/02/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, further to her Answer of 14 January 2020 to Question 1734 on the Independent Case Examiner, what the average length of time taken was to (a) commence and (b) complete an investigation into a complaint against her Department in (i) July to September 2019 and (ii) October to December 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
	tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
	uin	1994
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2020 answer text <p>The information requested is provided in the table below. In order to provide some context, we have included details of the number of complaints received and accepted for examination by the Independent Case Examiner’s Office in the last two full reporting years.</p><p> </p><p>We want to make sure people can get the support they are entitled to if they have been treated unfairly and are hiring and training new staff as quickly as we can, clearing more complaints last year than in 2017/18.</p><p> </p><p>The cases that reach the Independent Case Examiner are the most complex and investigations will not be compromised in order to be completed within certain timescales.</p><p> </p><p>We keep people updated about the timings involved with their case and the vast majority of complainants are satisfied with the service they receive.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year (April to March)</p></td><td><p>Complaints received</p></td><td><p>Complaints accepted for examination</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>5,885</p></td><td><p>2,784</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>4,824</p></td><td><p>1,299</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Period</p></td><td><p>Average time taken to commence an investigation (from date complaint accepted for examination)</p></td><td><p>Average time taken to complete an investigation (from date case allocated to an investigation case manager)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July - September 2019</p></td><td><p>57 weeks</p></td><td><p>20 weeks</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October - December 2019</p></td><td><p>61 weeks</p></td><td><p>21 weeks</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p /> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 27/04/2020 16:32:46 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 8078 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali

1178678

	registered interest
	date	12/02/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints against (a) the child maintenance service and child support agency and (b) her Department were accepted for investigation by the Independent Case Examiner in each year since 2014-15; and how many of those complaints were not investigated for at least 12 months after they were received.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	15041
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/02/2020 answer text <p>The cases that reach the Independent Case Examiner are the most complex and investigations will not be compromised in order to be completed within certain timescales.</p><p> </p><p>We keep people updated about the timings involved with their case and the vast majority of complainants are satisfied with the service they receive.</p><p> </p><p>The table below provides information on the number of Child Maintenance Service (CMS) and Child Support Agency (CSA) complaints that were received and accepted for investigation by the Independent Case Examiners Office in each year since 2014-15, and the number of cases that took longer than 12 months to conclude, from the date they were accepted for examination.</p><p> </p><p>Please note, we are unable to provide information on the number of cases that waited longer than 12 months for an investigation to commence for each year since 2014-15, and have therefore provided details of those cases that took longer than 12 months to conclude, from the point at which they were accepted for investigation.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year April to March</p></td><td><p>CSA &amp; CMS complaints received</p></td><td><p>CSA &amp; CMS complaints accepted for investigation</p></td><td><p>CSA &amp; CMS complaints cleared</p></td><td><p>Cleared cases that took longer than 12 months to conclude (from date of acceptance)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15</p></td><td><p>1169</p></td><td><p>495</p></td><td><p>490</p></td><td><p>14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-16</p></td><td><p>936</p></td><td><p>448</p></td><td><p>352</p></td><td><p>113</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>869</p></td><td><p>333</p></td><td><p>380</p></td><td><p>279</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>896</p></td><td><p>260</p></td><td><p>326</p></td><td><p>279</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-19</p></td><td><p>1253</p></td><td><p>395</p></td><td><p>342</p></td><td><p>238</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019-20 (to the end of January 2020)</p></td><td><p>1099</p></td><td><p>395</p></td><td><p>233</p></td><td><p>160</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 28/02/2020 15:08:00 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1193704

	registered interest
	date	06/05/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 14 January 2020 to Question 1734 on the Independent Case Examiner, what the average length of time taken was to (a) commence and (b) complete an investigation into a complaint against her Department between 1 January 2020 and 31 March 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
	tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
	uin	43913
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2020 answer text <p>The cases that reach the ICE Office are the most complex and investigations will not be compromised in order to be completed within certain timescales. Having accepted a complaint for examination, the ICE Office will initially try to broker a solution between the complainant and the relevant department or supplier, without having to request evidence to inform an investigation – this is known as “resolution”. If it’s not possible to resolve the complaint, the evidence will be requested and the case will await allocation to an Investigation Case Manager (ICM). Complainants are kept updated on the progression of their complaint and the vast majority are satisfied with the service they receive.</p><p> </p><p>During the period 1 January 2020 and 31 March 2020, it took the Independent Case Examiner’s Office an average of: 62 weeks to commence an investigation (from the point at which the complaint was accepted for examination); and 18 weeks to complete an investigation (from the point at which it was allocated to an ICM).</p><p> </p><p>The Independent Case Examiner’s Office began the process of recruiting additional ICMs, to help it reduce the time complaints wait to be brought into investigation, prior to the introduction of the Coronavirus lockdown measures. That process will recommence as soon as it is practicable to do so.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 15/05/2020 11:10:12 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali

1192815

	registered interest
	date	04/05/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 27 April 2020 to Question 1994 on the Independent Case Examiner, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Independent Case Examiner's Office reduces the time taken to commence an investigation and allocate that investigation to an investigation case manager.
	tabling member constituency	Edmonton
	tabling member printed	Kate Osamor
	uin	43086
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2020 answer text <p>The Independent Case Examiner’s Office has begun the process of recruiting additional Investigation Case Managers, to help it reduce the time complaints wait to be brought into investigation, prior to the introduction of the Coronavirus lockdown measures.</p><p> </p><p>Due to the unprecedented number of benefit claims received since the start of the pandemic, we have refocused recruitment on staff needed to process and pay claims, taking the difficult decision to pause recruitment to ICE. We will recommence as soon as it is practicable to do so.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 20/05/2020 14:24:23 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 21190 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4515 label Biography information for Kate Osamor

1610327

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2023
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Independent Case Examiner is taking steps to reduce the time between a complaint being accepted and the allocation of that complaint to an investigator.
	tabling member constituency	Glenrothes
	tabling member printed	Peter Grant
	uin	180460
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2023 answer text <p>The ICE process has several stages. When a referral is received the team initially considers whether, without undertaking a detailed examination of the evidence, a resolution can be brokered with the relevant department or its supplier. If resolution cannot be achieved, and the complaint is accepted, the case awaits allocation to an investigator who, following a review of the evidence, will first consider if settlement is appropriate. This requires the relevant department or its supplier to agree action with the complainant. Full investigation reports of detailed findings and any recommendations for redress are based on a thorough examination of case evidence.</p><p> </p><p>The ICE office continues to review its internal processes and structures to make the most efficient use of its investigative resource. Between 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023, the office has recruited an additional 18 Investigators and is seeking to recruit up to its agreed headcount.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 19/04/2023 10:15:48 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4466 label Biography information for Peter Grant

1198356

	registered interest
	date	01/06/2020
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2020 to Question 43913 on the Independent Case Examiner, how many new Independent Case Examiners were recruited between 1 February 2020 and 31 March 2020 to help reduce the time complaints wait to be brought into investigation.
	tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
	tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
	uin	51974
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2020 answer text <p>Funding has been made available in the 2020/21 financial year to allow the Independent Case Examiner’s (ICE) Office to help reduce the time complaints wait to be brought into investigation. Its headcount will increase from 89 to 112. The recruitment of additional Investigation Case Managers commenced in February 2020, but was paused following the introduction of the Coronavirus lockdown measures. That pause has now been lifted and the Office is currently concluding the recruitment exercise.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 05/06/2020 13:49:51 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies previous answer version 25872 answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali

1274300

	registered interest
	date	06/01/2021
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time is between a complaint being accepted by the Independent Case Examiner and the case being allocated to a caseworker; and what the average length of time is between a case being accepted by the Independent Case Examiner and the complainant receiving an outcome.
	tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
	tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
	uin	133658
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2021 answer text <p>When the Independent Case Examiner’s Office accept a complaint for investigation, they will initially try to broker a solution between the complainant and the relevant department or supplier, without having to request evidence to inform an investigation – this is known as “resolution”. If it’s not possible to resolve the complaint, the evidence will be requested and the case will await allocation to an Investigation Case Manager (ICM). The cases that reach the Independent Case Examiner are the most complex and usually require investigation. Complainants are kept updated about the timings involved with their case and the vast majority are satisfied with the service they receive.</p><p> </p><p>Based on the complaints that were allocated for investigation during the 2020 calendar year, the average length of wait between the complaint being accepted for examination and it being allocated to an Investigation Case Manager was 64.5 weeks.</p><p> </p><p>During the 2020 calendar year, the average length of time between a case being accepted for examination by the Independent Case Examiner’s Office and the complainant receiving an outcome was 81.4 weeks (this total includes the 64.5 weeks average wait before being allocated to an Investigation Case Manager. It excludes those cases which are resolved without the need for a full investigation).</p><p> </p><p>Whilst the Unit has received additional resource during the current financial year, to help reduce the time complaints wait to be brought into investigation, progress has been constrained by the effects of Covid, which included the redeployment of some staff, and the delay in recruitment of new staff.</p><p /> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 11/01/2021 17:16:23 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1461259

	registered interest
	date	10/05/2022
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Independent Case Examiner
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time is from receipt of a complaint about (a) her Department and (b) the Child Maintenance Service to the Independent Case Examiner to the commencement of any investigation.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	329
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2022 answer text <p>When the Independent Case Examiner’s (ICE) Office accept a complaint for investigation, they will initially try to broker a solution between the complainant and the relevant department or supplier, without having to request evidence to inform an investigation – this is known as “resolution”. If it’s not possible to resolve the complaint, the evidence will be requested and the case will await allocation to an Investigator. The cases that reach ICE are the most complex and usually require investigation. Complainants are kept updated about the timings involved with their case and the vast majority are satisfied with the service they receive.</p><p> </p><p>During the 2021/2022 reporting year, the average length of time taken from receipt of a complaint to allocation to an Investigator was 55 weeks for DWP complaints and 60 weeks for Child Maintenance Service complaints.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 18/05/2022 17:06:21 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell