21 February 2008 – Publication of DWP research report: No 471 CSA Client Insight Research 2007

Research is published today by the Child Support Agency (CSA) on the views and experiences of its clients and the service they have received between May 2006 and May 2007. It looks at their views of the accessibility of the Agency’s services, what does and does not work and what could be done differently. The research was carried out in the first half of 2007.

The Agency had just launched its three year Operational Improvement Plan at the beginning of the period of time covered in the report. The survey was aimed at informing the Agency where further improvements could be made to the service it provides.

The survey found that around one third of clients who had been in touch with the Agency between May 2006 and May 2007 were largely satisfied with their experience of dealing with the Agency. 

Since then, the Agency has directly addressed issues raised in the survey. New applications are now being processed more quickly than ever before, with over half being cleared within six weeks of receipt.

There have also been improvements in client service. Between April and December 2007, 98% of calls were answered within 20 seconds.

Figures from December 2007 also show that since the introduction of the Operational Improvement Plan, maintenance has been collected or arranged for an additional 78,000 children.

The survey also found that:

Clients’ personal circumstances have a strong bearing on the way they experience the Agency. Clients that were less satisfied with the Agency tended to be parents who had poor relationships with each other, and those where the non-resident parent had no contact with the child/children.

Those clients involved in the debt enforcement and complaints areas of Agency business were the least likely to be satisfied with their experience.

Clients’ experience of the Agency varied across client groups with parents with care generally being more positive than non-resident parents. 

Areas where clients reported the Agency as performing better were:

• the new application and case maintenance parts of the process (timely collection and payment of maintenance)
• aspects of how the Agency interacts with its clients (e.g. treating information with care, treating clients with courtesy and respect and having suitable times and channels for contact);

The survey results suggest that clients’ satisfaction would substantially increase with improved performance in the following areas:

• accuracy of actions taken by Agency staff;
• responsiveness and timeliness in all aspects of service provision;
• generally keeping clients informed about the status of their maintenance payments.

Notes to Editors

1. The research was conducted during a period of rapid change for the Agency, and the child maintenance system in general. The Agency’s Operational Improvement Plan (OIP), which was announced in February 2006, has been introduced to change the way the Agency delivers its services, with a much greater focus on ensuring non-resident parents fulfil their responsibility to pay maintenance as well as putting in place more efficient, supportive and responsive processes.
   
   
2. The Government’s White Paper (December 2006) acknowledged that the child maintenance system has not lived up to expectations and some of the proposals it contained, as well as initiatives within the Operational Improvement Plan, should address some of the issues identified by clients within this report.
   Changes set out in the White Paper include the creation of a new non-departmental body to replace the Child Support Agency, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission (C-MEC) as well as wide-ranging reforms to the policy framework – including giving parents more choice and support over their maintenance arrangements, and improvements to the way in which maintenance is collected, assessed and enforced.
   
   The findings of this research report need to be considered in the context of these reforms.
   
3. During this time of change it is important that the Agency understands its clients, who they are, how they experience the service provided by the Agency, and what their main satisfaction drivers are in doing so. The Agency commissioned this client insight research to provide strategic and operational managers with the information and detail required to improve the service the Agency provides.  The survey will provide a baseline against which our clients’ experience of the changing service can be measured.
   
   
4. Evidence was captured from fifteen focus groups with Agency clients (non-resident parents and parents with care), which informed a subsequent national quantitative survey of over 4,000 clients.  Research took place in the first half of 2007.  The quantitative survey collected information on clients’ experiences during the 12 months prior to the survey taking place (approximately May 2006 to May 2007). The research therefore reveals issues that the Agency faced before the Operational Improvement Plan took effect. The Agency currently has almost 2.3 million clients (both non resident parents and parents with care).
   
5. The report is entitled “CSA Research on Client Insight 2007” by Mellor et al, Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP, 2007.  The report is published in the Department for Work and Pensions Research Report Series (Report No. 471). http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrs2008.asp#csaclient

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