Procedures, statistics and additional assessments relating to LTIA

Request 742119948​

Under the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011, I am requesting disclosure of the following information held by the Government of Jersey in relation to the Customer and Local Services Department, Income Support, and Long-Term Incapacity Allowance (LTIA):

1. Policies, procedures, or internal guidance documents relating to:

The handling of LTIA and Income Support claimants who raise concerns about their treatment.

The role and remit of the “Customer Feedback Manager” in responding to claimant queries.

When and why claimants are directed to use the “feedback” email address, rather than receiving direct case support.

2. Records or statistics (for the past 3 years) showing:

The number of LTIA or Income Support claimants who were required to submit repeat applications for follow-up treatment or continuing costs.

The number of claimants whose correspondence was redirected to the “feedback” address instead of being resolved by frontline staff.

3. Any equality impact assessments, monitoring reports, or reviews relating to fairness, consistency, or discrimination in the handling of LTIA or Income Support claimants.

Response

1. Policies, procedures, or internal guidance documents relating to:

a) The handling of LTIA and Income Support claimants who raise concerns about their treatment.

The Department does not hold any policy, procedure or guidance specific to LTIA or Income Support claimants who raise concerns about their treatment. 

The relevant document we do hold is the Customer Feedback Policy, which sets out how concerns and complaints are managed for all customers of the Department, including LTIA and Income Support claimants. This policy is publicly available on the Government of Jersey website​.

As this information is reasonably accessible to you by other means, Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

b) The role and remit of the “Customer Feedback Manager” in responding to claimant queries

The Customer Feedback Manager does not deal with claimant queries. General claimant queries are handled by Customer Service Advisors. The remit of the Customer Feedback Manager relates specifically to the handling of complaints. This remit is described within the Customer Feedback Policy, which sets out how complaints are managed across the Government. As stated above, the Customer Feedback Policy is publicly available on the Government of Jersey website. 

As this information is reasonably accessible to you by other means, Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

c) When and why claimants are directed to use the “feedback” email address, rather than receiving direct case support. 

Guidance on when customers may be directed to the “feedback@gov.je” address is provided in the Government of Jersey’s Customer Feedback Policy, under the section “Acceptable Behaviour.”

This section explains that, in certain circumstances, individuals may be notified that all future correspondence should be channelled through the central feedback process. This measure is applied where behaviour impacts staff or service delivery, or where it is more appropriate for concerns to be managed under the feedback policy rather than as casework.

As this information is reasonably accessible to you by other means, Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied. 

2. Records or statistics (for the past 3 years) showing:

a) The number of LTIA or Income Support claimants who were required to submit repeat applications for follow-up treatment or continuing costs.

LTIA claimants are not required to submit repeat applications for follow-up treatment or continuing costs. This is because LTIA is awarded as compensation for loss of faculty and does not cover care or treatment-related expenses.

Consequently, the Department does not hold this information. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 therefore applies.

Income Support is a means-tested benefit assessed on a household’s financial circumstances at the time. 

Once a claim is in payment all relevant members of a household are required to provide updated information when their circumstances change. 

However, there is no separate category of change in circumstances for “repeat applications for follow-up treatment or continuing costs.” Consequently, the department does not hold this information. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 therefore applies.

b) The number of claimants whose correspondence was redirected to the “feedback” address instead of being resolved by frontline staff.

The Department does not hold records or statistics on the number of customers whose correspondence was redirected to the “feedback@gov.je” address.

Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 therefore applies.

3. Any equality impact assessments, monitoring reports, or reviews relating to fairness, consistency, or discrimination in the handling of LTIA or Income Support claimants.

The Department  does not hold any equality impact assessments, monitoring reports, or reviews that specifically address fairness, consistency, or discrimination in the handling of LTIA or Income Support claims. 

Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 therefore applies.

Articles applied

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.

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