Jobcentre Plus on track, says DWP minister

Changes to failing government IT system will significantly boost service

Pensions minister Stephen Timms has acknowledged ‘glitches’ with the Customer Management System (CMS) at Jobcentre Plus, but says the issues are being successfully addressed.

Computing has reported extensively about problems with CMS, including new claimants waiting two months for their first payment, people unable to get through to call centres, and a reversion to paper-based procedures to clear the backlogs of calls.

‘It is not acceptable for anybody to suffer hardship, but I do want to make the point that the challenges are being successfully addressed, and I am absolutely certain the result will be a significantly better service,’ Timms told Computing.

‘It would be great if one could carry out a huge IT transformation without glitches, but I don’t think that is practical in either the public or private sectors,’ he said.

Employees in one of the worst-hit contact centres say the situation has only improved because CMS is no longer being used.

‘When they take away the contingency measures, we will be in crisis again,’ said one call centre worker.

Timms denies that the problems will return. ‘I don’t expect things to go backwards – we plan for all to return to full IT operations by March,’ he said.

The changes at Jobcentre Plus are part of a multibillion-pound transformation programme at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). The aim is to achieve annual savings of £1bn by 2008, as part of the Treasury’s efficiency targets.

Major IT-enabled improvements that have already been delivered include a system to enable benefits to be paid directly into a bank or post office account, nationally networked ‘Jobpoint’ terminals replacing pinboards in local Jobcentres, and the replacement of paper forms with a telephone system for applying for state pensions.

‘Parts of the transformation are difficult, but we are seeing IT make a very big contribution to improving services,’ said Timms.