Delays persist for benefits

Upgrade to troubled claims system yet to shorten waiting list for payments

Benefits claimants are still waiting weeks for payments to start, despite contingency plans having been put in place and an upgrade to the troubled customer management system (CMS) at Jobcentre Plus (JC+).

In parts of Suffolk, Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA) applicants are waiting as long as six weeks for their money.

Claims made at the end of September are only now being processed, and people applying now will not receive anything before Christmas.

‘It is chaos here,’ said a source at a local JC+ office.

‘All day long we have a procession of people wanting to know when they will get their money. As we near Christmas it can only get worse, and people with children are desperate.’

A letter from East of England JC+ management, seen by Computing, acknowledges the issue, but suggests that an effective response has yet to be established.

‘We are developing plans to ensure that all parts of our business are able to handle the volume of JSA customers, now and throughout the January seasonal peak,’ says the letter.

JC+ insiders say the problems are the knock-on effect of issues with CMS2 and wider organisational changes.

CMS2 design flaws and poor staff training led to huge hold-ups at the call centres, which are the first stage in the claim process (Computing, 29 September).

The East of England is one of eight areas across the country that reverted to paper processes to clear the backlog.

But that is pushing problems further down the line, and local resources are struggling to cope with the numbers of claimants now getting through.
CMS3, the next generation of the software, went live at the end of October. JC+ staff say it is an improvement, but that problems caused by employee job cuts and process changes associated with the system remain.

Members of the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee visited the JC+ contact centre in Hastings last week to see CMS3 in action.

‘It is not perfect but it is substantially improved,’ said Michael Foster, committee member and MP for Hastings.

But the real test will be when the centre comes off clerical procedures and goes back to using the full CMS process, says Foster.