Social Protection | Shortening of waiting times for social welfare payment applicants

To ask the Minister for Social Protection the extent to which the waiting time for a decision in respect of applications for various social welfare payments has been shortened; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

REPLY

My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its customers, ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible.

The targets for each scheme are agreed by Management Board in consultation with the relevant scheme areas. In setting the individual scheme targets consideration is taken of the complexity of the schemes and the processes that are necessary to determine eligibility. As a result the processing times vary across schemes, depending on the differing qualification criteria.

Schemes that require a high level of documentary evidence from the customer, particularly in the case of illness-related schemes, can take longer to process. Similarly, means-tested payments can also require more detailed investigations and interaction with the applicant, thereby lengthening the decision-making process. There are two key metrics which help determine the targets associated with each scheme, namely the average number of weeks to award and the percentage of claims awarded within the target timeframe. These metrics, alongside other factors such as staffing levels, potential changes to eligibility criteria or changes to business processes, are taken into account when accessing the feasibility of a revision to the target for a given scheme. The processing times are reviewed annually.

My Department understands the many pressures faced by customers and always seeks to ensure that claims are processed quickly and efficiently.

I am pleased to report that claim processing targets are currently being met for all schemes across the Disability and Caring Schemes. My department continues to ensure that customer service is maintained at a high level.

Processing times for all scheme areas at end of 2021 and 2022 are set out below;

Scheme	Target set	Achieved		Average weeks to award
Contribution based Schemes		Dec-21	Dec-22	Dec-21	Dec-22
State Pension Contributory	90% by date of entitlement	98%	95%	5	6
Widow(er)’s Contributory Pension	90% in 6 weeks	96%	95%	1	1
Jobseeker’s Benefit	90% in 3 weeks	96%	96%	1	1
Maternity Benefit	90% by due date	82%	93%	6	6
Paternity Benefit	90% by commencement of leave	73%	94%	6	6
Parents Benefit	90% by commencement of leave	Not Available	86%	1	1
Illness Benefit	90% in 1 week	68%	95%	1	1
Carer’s Benefit	90% in 12 weeks	Not Available	Not Available	4	6
Invalidity Pension	90% in 10 weeks	91%	90%	8	8
Occupational Injury Benefit	90% in 1 week	64%	58%	1	1
Means tested Based Schemes
State Pension (Non-Contributory)	75% in 12 weeks	85%	87%	7	6
Jobseeker’s Allowance	90% in 6 weeks	98%	97%	1	1
One-Parent Family Payment	90% in 10 weeks	98%	96%	5	3
Working Family Payment	90% in 6 weeks	–	–	3	5
Supplementary Welfare Allowance	90% in 1 week	92%	85%	1	1
Disability Allowance	75% in 10 weeks	95%	83%	5	8
Carer’s Allowance	75% in 11 weeks	92%	87%	5	7
Other Schemes
Child Benefit	90% in 4 weeks	80%	65%	2	2
Domiciliary Care Allowance	90% in 10 weeks	4%	98%	12	5
Household Benefits	90% in 4 weeks	100%	96%	1	1
Free Travel	90% in 2 weeks	98%	98%	2	3

In recent years, my Department has introduced a wide range of initiatives aimed at streamlining the processing of claims, supported by modern technology.  Operational processes, procedures and the organisation of work are continually reviewed to ensure that processing capability is maximized.

I hope this clarifies the matter for the deputy.