An Initial consultation has already been issued, under the banner of Strategic Business Review (SBR). Following feedback, the Minister has amended some aspects and the updated proposals are being taken forward under the title of 'Customer First.'
The Minister had told the Assembly that she would listen carefully to concerns about SBR and has indicated, on several occasions, that she had some issues of her own including the large distances some staff may have to travel and any potential disruption for customers, especially during this difficult economic period.
The Minister highlighted that any call to abandon the principles of SBR, would be a case of 'throwing the baby out with the bath water', as the Agency needed to safeguard and improve the service for its customers.
Margaret Ritchie said “My proposals will bring about a much needed modernisation of the Agency’s local office network which is more than forty years old. I can achieve this without large scale movement of staff to new offices. This will be done using a number of approaches. These include the addition of two processing centres to be located in Lurgan and Ballymena; the clustering of local offices and the retraining of staff. Most staff will not move and those that do will not move far. Fears about people being required to go long distances have absolutely no foundation."
The Minister continued by addressing some of the concerns that emerged during the initial consultation phase.
She said: "Let me re-state the facts. There will be no loss of frontline services for any local office. No offices will be closing, no staff will be losing their employment and the current range of frontline services provided by local offices will not change. It is all about improving service to those who use the Agency”
The Minister also emphasised that new telephony arrangements would enhance choice for customers and those who prefer to see staff face to face will continue to do so.
The Minister concluded by emphasising that she didn't want major organisational upheaval during the economic downturn and would pilot “Customer First” before rolling it out across Northern Ireland.
She said: "I intend to pilot the proposed changes in SSA's North District to come into effect in April 2010. This allows for changes to be tested and lessons to be learned before any further rollout."
This final phase of consultation will run from 23 April to 17 June 2009.
Notes to editors
- The North District is Coleraine, Limavady, Ballymoney, Ballymena, Antrim, Magherafelt and Cookstown.
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