The Operational Improvement Plan
- Isn't the Child Support Agency (CSA) being scrapped? What are the plans for the new organisation?
- What is the Operational Improvement Plan?
- Isn't this money down the drain when the Agency has been axed?
- What are you actually doing to improve things?
Q. Isn't the Child Support Agency (CSA) being scrapped? What are the plans for the new organisation?
A. The Child Support Agency will continue to operate the current schemes and is focused on getting more money to more children to provide a solid platform for the new organisation.
In the coming year the CSA will continue to deliver the benefits of the three year Operational Improvement Plan, collecting more money for more children and getting tougher on non-resident parents who avoid their financial responsibilities.
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is expected to take responsibility for the CSA by the end of 2008.
Q. What is the Operational Improvement Plan?
A. We launched the Operational Improvement Plan in February 2006. Over three years an additional £120m will be invested in the CSA in order to radically improve the service we provide to our clients.
The plan, which will last for three years, is designed to help us fundamentally change the way we work, making us focus on the things that matter most to our clients. It is set out under four headings:
- Getting it right - gathering information and assessing applications
- Keeping it right - active case management
- Putting it right - enforcing responsibilities; and
- Getting the best from the organisation.
Q. Isn't this money down the drain when the CSA has been axed?
A. No - during the period we are setting up the new organisation, the CSA will continue to collect maintenance on behalf of children and continue to have the Government's full support.
Our performance has shown some improvement in recent months, providing us with a solid foundation on which to deliver future improvements and to ensure that child maintenance is delivered.
Improvements to the operation of the current CSA will be fundamental to the establishment of the new body, and any improvements made to the current organisation will translate into improvements in the new body.
Q. What are you actually doing to improve things?
A. The initial phase of the Operational Improvement Plan focused on the organisational and operational restructuring of the CSA, and the training of our people to increase capacity and capability.
In 2007/08 we will be delivering the second year of the plan. We will continue to embed the changes to the way our organisation is structured. A number of real and lasting benefits will also be visible from Spring 2007. These include:
Getting it right
- improved client communications through better inbound and outbound telephony systems and simplified leaflets, forms and letters.
Keeping it right
- improving our complaints handling process
- a campaign, launching in the summer of 2007, to help tackle the problem of non-compliant non-resident parents - parents who should pay child maintenance, but won't. The campaign will highlight our enforcement powers and how we will increasingly use them against those who evade their responsibilities.
Putting it right
- the collection of historic debt, both by our own people and through working with specialist debt-collection agencies
- improvements to our computer system which will boost productivity, aid our debt and legal enforcement activities and increase levels of case compliance.
Getting the best from the organisation
- a revised management information service to support managers in delivering on-going service improvements
- stronger planning and prioritisation, through more effective risk management
- a re-designed operating model, with an upgraded computer system to improve efficiency
- improvements to our computer system which will help us to:
- become more productive
- sort out problems with cases which cannot currently be progressed
- reduce the number of cases being dealt with clerically
- improve financial accounting
- manage payments more effectively for clients.
