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<p> </p><p> </p><p>DWP post opening arrangements are delivered as part of a contract
for Office Services awarded to Cofely (formerly Balfour Beatty Workplace) which commenced
on 1.3.07. The contract was let in line with EU procurement legislation and offers
significant cost savings and efficiencies over the previous arrangements which were
a mixture of third party contractors and in house teams.</p><p> </p><p>In 2013 and
in partnership with Cofely, DWP has introduced a new initiative to transform DWP's
mail services. The Mail Opening, Scanning and Indexing Project will provide a single
strategic service for post opening and scanning across DWP allowing our front line
staff to work more efficiently and effectively whilst drastically reducing our paper
consumption, storage requirements and demonstrating the Departments commitment to
the Government's digital agenda.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the overall efficiencies
we have consolidated the number of MOUs from 29 sites operated by the Royal Mail Group
to just 2 locations operated by Cofely, but underpinned by a new Royal Mail sorting
office in Wolverhampton.</p><p> </p><p>The consolidation to 2 MOUs is currently being
transformed; the Department is working with all the Providers impacted in the supply
chain to optimise quality, performance and service delivery</p><p> </p><p>As with
any new way of working, time is needed for processes and procedures to be bedded in
and the Department continues to work closely with the supplier, regularly reviewing
their performance. The Department is confident that this new way of handling inbound
mail when coupled with the increase in scanning, will deliver efficiencies and a better
service to our customers in the long term.</p>
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