Customer Management System FAQs
Q. A large volume of HB/CTB claims made via CMS are being received from non dependants resulting in an increased number of checks to confirm a customer’s liability to pay HB/CTB. How can this be resolved?
A. The current wording of the relevant questions in the CMS script that ask about liability to pay rent and/or council tax was agreed by both the Practitioners Operational Group and the Department’s Solicitors. It is supported by help text which the CMS user can utilise to question the customer to establish if they really are liable to pay rent and/or council tax.
If you are encountering specific problems in your council we would first advise that you use your normal liaison arrangements to establish if Jobcentre Plus staff are making appropriate use of this to determine a customer’s liability.
If you have already exhausted this route it would be helpful if you could provide statistics on the volume of HB/CTB claims received from non-dependants via CMS in your council. Please use the central HBSD
e-mail address box to forward this information to us (HBDSMP.WWEG@DWP.GSI.GOV.UK)
Q. Can mobile phone number and email address information be captured on the Local Authority Input Document?
A. From April 2009 CMS will gather an additional telephone number, where the customer has provided one, which will be output onto the LAID.
Currently mobile phone numbers can be given as a main point of contact and this would be output onto the LAID. This would be shown under the Customer Details section
Phone No & Location: Mobile 07777777777
From CMS Release 10, the customer will be able to give an alternative contact number; again this will be recorded in the Customer Details section
Phone No & Location: Mobile 07777777777
Alternative Contact Number: 01253 333333 (freetext)
We are not currently collecting e-mail addresses because there are concerns on the security of such channels to send such information. However, the Department is looking into the possibility of using e-mail and text messaging to transmit certain information.
Q. What is the Customer Management System?
A. The Customer Management System provides an interactive, efficient and work focused electronic information gathering process for Jobcentre Plus across a number of benefits. The Customer Management System procedures support the Jobcentre Plus ethos of helping people into work, helping employers fill vacancies, and providing help and support for customers during the transition into work and those currently unable to work.
Q. What benefits are in scope for the Customer Management System?
A. The Customer Management System gathers all the information needed for new and repeat claims for Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance (both Income based and Contributions based) and Incapacity Benefit. These are referred to as the ‘primary benefits’. Where a customer makes a new or repeat claim for a primary benefit, information will also be gathered to support any claim for Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, Social Fund Crisis Loan Alignment to Benefit Payments and Child Support. These are referred to as ‘associated benefits’.
Q. What about other Social Security Benefits?
A. The Customer Management System does not support other benefits, for example Maternity Allowance. However, Jobcentre Plus staff are trained to consider entitlement to other benefits and by following the scripted questions, CMS will identify potential entitlement to Maternity Allowance, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit, Carers Allowance and Bereavement Benefit. These are referred to as ‘secondary benefits’.
Customers wishing to claim a secondary benefit will be sent the appropriate claim pack which they will need to complete and return. Any customer claiming a secondary benefit who also wants to claim HB/CTB will need to contact the LA direct to make a claim..
Q. What advantages has the Customer Management System introduced?
A. The Customer Management System delivers a fully IT supported, interactive, customer and work focused information gathering process. Information is gathered once for all the primary and associated benefits (including HB/CTB) and to inform the work focused aspects of the claim. Relevant information is then shared with all other agencies, as appropriate, including local authorities The information gathered reflects what would normally be received on a clerical claim form such as the HCTB1.
Q. How does the Customer Management System gather all the information needed for primary and associated benefit claims?
A. Informationis usually gathered over the telephone, by asking a series of scripted questions based on a customers personal circumstances. The customers reponses are recorded on the Customer Management System. The telephone interview is conducted by a member of staff from Jobcentre Plus, referred to as a Customer Service Agent (CS Agent). The scripting is ‘intelligent’, and the Customer Management System routes the CS Agent to the next appropriate question depending on the answers given by the customer to previous questions.
Customers who are unable or unwilling to make their claim over the telephone are provided with an interview at their local Jobcentre Plus office. Again the customers responses are recorded on the Customer Management System but the interview is carried out face-to-face. Customers who are unable to make a claim over the telephone or at the Jobcentre Plus office will be visited by a member of staff from Jobcentre Plus who will help them claim the benefits to which they might be entitled, including HB/CTB by completing a paper claim form.
Q. What happens to the information gathered from the customer using the scripted questions?
A. As the customer provides answers to the scripted questions the information
is entered onto the Customer Management System by the CS Agent and
this in turn compiles the Customer Statement.
Where the customer is not having a Work Focused Interview (WFI) the Customer Statement will be produced
at the end of the telephone call and will be sent to the customer to check, sign
and return. However when a WFI has been booked the customer will be asked
to bring along any missing information/evidence to the WFI interview, where they
will be seen by a Financial Assessor (FA) who will complete the Customer Statement and ask the customer
to check and sign the statement whilst in attendance.
The Customer Statement is the claim for the primary and associated benefits and replaces the paper claim forms that the customer previously had to complete in order to claim these benefits.
Q. What if the customer has been unable to provide answers to some of the questions?
A. Any unanswered question(s) from the telephone call will be listed within the Customer Statement with the word ‘unanswered’ next to the question. The FA will identify the unanswered questions and will pursue these with the customer by telephone prior to the arranged interview, they will also re-ask any unanswered questions at the interview.
Q. Will the customer be asked to supply evidence in support of their claims?
A. Details of the evidence that the customer needs to supply will be sent out with the Customer Statement. This will be based on the information the customer has given for example the customer will only be asked to supply proof of current earnings if they are working. Evidence will only be requested in support of the primary benefit claim(s). Evidence in support of HB/CTB claims only will not be requested, e.g. proof of rent. The customer will also be advised what type of evidence is acceptable to Jobcentre Plus.
Q. How will the claim for HB/CTB get to the LA?
A. HB/CTB claim details will be transferred to the LA when the customer has supplied all the required information and evidence in support of the primary benefit claim(s), or has or has not provided an acceptable reason why they do not have evidence. Where the customer has claimed both a means tested and contributions based primary benefit, for example Income Support (IS) and Incapacity Benefit (IB), claim details will be transferred when all information and evidence has been supplied in support of the means tested benefit.
The transfer of data will be in paper form by way of a ‘LA Input Document’. The LA Input Document in the majority of cases will contain all the information that is required to assess entitlement to HB/CTB. It will also show what evidence Jobcentre Plus staff have verified for the primary benefit claim(s) and any calculations they have carried out for example averaging of part-time earnings.
LAs make arrangements with the Jobcentre Plus liaison officer regarding the posting of the LA Input Document, or to make alternative arrangements for the receipt of the LA Input Document, e.g. courier or personal collection from the Jobcentre Plus office.
Q. Will the LA have to contact the customer for additional information before entitlement to HB/CTB can be assessed?
A. In the majority of cases the LA Input Document will provide all the information needed to assess HB/CTB. The amount and type of information contained in the LA Input Document will be very similar to the information contained in the HCTB1, although the format will be different. However, LAs may need to ask the customer to supply additional evidence to support their claim, such as proof of rent for private tenants who have not claimed HB/CTB from that address previously.
Q. What notification details (if any) are received by the customer to indicate that they may still be required to provide further evidence in support of their HB/CTB claim? What does the Financial Assessor (FA) explain to the customer in terms of further evidence that will be required by the LAs?
A. The FA should inform the customer that they may need to provide evidence for their HB/CTB claim. The CMS Guide for LAs states that:
- their HB/CTB claim details will be sent to the LA when they have provided all the required information for their primary benefit claim, or after one month from the date of initial contact irrespective of any outstanding evidence;
- they may have to provide the LA with HB/CTB specific evidence to support their claim to HB/CTB;
- the LA is responsible for making the decision on claims to HB/CTB.
Q. How long will Jobcentre Plus hold onto a claim, if information or evidence is still outstanding?
A. Guidance advises that Jobcentre Plus transfer claim details after one month from initial contact, to all appropriate benefit processing sections, this includes sending the details by way of LA Input Document to the LA irrespective of any outstanding evidence. These cases are identified automatically to be actioned appropriately, by the Financial Assessor (FA), which includes deletion from the CMS system.
Q. Will LAs have to take separate action to confirm that the customer has satisfied the requirements of S1(A) and 1(1B) of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1992 (commonly referred to as S19 requirements)?
A. Jobcentre Plus will carry out checks to confirm whether or not the customer has satisfied S19 requirements for the purpose of the primary benefit claim(s). The Financial Assessor (FA) will indicate on the Customer Management System whether or not they are satisfied that the requirements have been met for both the customer and partner and this will be shown on the LA Input Document. Where the FA indicates that S19 requirements have been satisfied in respect of the primary benefit(s). LAs can choose to accept the Department’s verification of the customer’s NINo and ID as sufficient for HB/CTB purposes.
Q. How can I find out more about the Customer Management System and what support will Housing Benefit Strategy Division provide
A. DWP Housing Benefit Strategy Division (HBSD) provided HB/CTB input into the development of CMS and aim to ensure that the needs of local authorities (LAs) and their customers are fully met. This is achieved through interaction with LA users and continuous involvement during the development of CMS releases. Further information is included within this dedicated CMS web page, within which you will find:
- CMS Background
- Seminar Slides
- Local Authority Customer Informaton Leaflet
- Link to CMS Regulations
- The Customer Management System- A Guide for Local Authorities
- Frequently Asked Questions
- CMS Release Updates
Or you may contact one of the HBSD team to discuss any of your CMS queries. Details for which are provided on the relevant web page on this site.
