Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long her Department takes on average to process a complaint referred to the Independent Case Examiner.

The Independent Case Examiner (ICE) service standards set out how long it should take the office to deal with complaints. These service standards are published on gov.uk. The ICE Annual Report for 2021-22 will be published shortly.

The ICE process has a number of stages. Once a referral has been accepted as a complaint, the ICE office initially considers whether, without undertaking a detailed examination of the evidence, a resolution can be brokered with the relevant department or its supplier. If resolution cannot be achieved, the case awaits allocation to an investigator who, following a review of the evidence, will first consider if settlement is appropriate. This requires the relevant department or its supplier to agree action with the complainant. Full investigation reports of detailing findings and any recommendations for redress are based on a thorough examination of case evidence. (Cases are currently brought into investigation according to the date on which the complaint was accepted.)

The office aims to resolve complaints within 8 weeks of the complaint being accepted for examination, settle complaints within 15 weeks of the complaint being allocated to an investigator and complete a full investigation within 20 weeks of the complaint being allocated to an investigator.

Details of the ICE office performance from 1 April 2022 – 31 October 2022 (YTD) are below:

Resolution:

The average clearance time in those cases that were resolved was 8.31 weeks from the point the complaint was accepted for examination.

Settlement:

The average clearance time in those cases that were settled was 6.19 weeks from the point the complaint was allocated to an Investigation Case Manager.

Investigation Reports:

The average clearance time in those cases that resulted in an ICE investigation report was 27.4 weeks from the point the complaint was allocated to an investigator.

There is no service standard for the time a complaint awaits allocation to an investigator, as allocation is dependent on multiple factors, including the volume and complexity of complaints received, as well as available investigative resource.