DWP Central Freedom of Information Team

e-mail: [DWP request email]

Our Ref: VTR 2051

25 November 2009

Dear Mr Johnson,

Request for information

Thank you for your freedom of information request received on 8/10/09. You asked for :-

The total number of customer postal items received at DLA Blackpool by day/week/month/year
Time taken to view such postal items.
Average time for postal items to be processed onto the computer system.
Any statistics/numbers on loss of forms/postal items sent through the postal system to DLA Blackpool.
Any targets/performance information on DLA Blackpool's dealing with postal forms/requests.

I have replied to each of your questions below.

Numbers of post items received at Disability Contact and Processing Unit( DCPU) situated at Warbreck House, Blackpool are collated on a monthly basis. It is not possible to distinguish between postal items for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA) as post totals are not broken down into these distinct benefits. A table is enclosed below giving totals from October 2008 to September 2009.

DCPU, Warbreck Hse - Royal Mail Incoming Post Volumes
Apr-09	165,239
May-09	161,559
Jun-09	170,428
Jul-09	175,338
Aug-09	141,218
Sep-09	148,775
Total	962,557

With regard to time taken to view postal items, please note this data is not recorded by the DCPU and thus I cannot provide you with any figures.

As with question 2 average times for postal items to be processed onto the computer systems are not recorded at the DCPU. Thus I cannot provide you with these figures.

Data on lost items of post sent though the postal system to DCPU Blackpool are not kept on any central database. To extract such information all letters of complaint received by DCPU Blackpool would need to be examined for evidence of a complaint about lost postal items.

Thus while I can confirm that the department holds this information falling within the description specified in your request. However, we estimate that the cost of complying with your request would exceed the appropriate limit of £600. The appropriate limit has been specified in regulations and for central Government it is set at £600. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 3½ working days in determining whether the Department holds the information, and locating, retrieving and extracting the information. Under section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act the Department is not obliged to comply with your request.

We have published targets for dealing with DLA “events” which arise from forms / requests details alongside current performance are as follows:

Event Type	Clearance Target	Current Performance (year to date as at 13/11/09)
DLA New Claim (normal rules)	38 days	36.8 days
DLA New Claim (special rules)	8 days	8.2 days
DLA Renewals	32 days	31.8 days
DLA Reconsiderations	35 days	32.4 days
DLA Supersessions	48 days	40.2 days
DLA Appeals	37 days	37.3 days

It should be noted that these targets includes the number of days from the date the postal application is received to the date the event is cleared.

If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely

DWP Central FoI Team

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Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act

If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by e-mailing [DWP request email]. or by writing to DWP, Central FoI Team, 5th Floor The Adelphi, 1-11, John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HT. Any review request should be submitted within two months of the date of this letter.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner's Office for a decision. Generally the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF www.ico.gov.uk