Source · Select Committees · Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Deferred
Paragraph: 16
Differentiate case resolution times by separating COVID-19 backlog figures from post-pandemic cases.
Conclusion
We welcome the fact that the PHSO has worked hard to reduce the backlog of cases created by the COVID-19 pandemic and met its target for making initial decisions about cases within seven days. However, we remain concerned by the fact that the PHSO has missed its targets on deciding cases subject to further consideration. The PHSO attributed this to the lag effect of closing cases that had been in the queue for a long time and expect that the time taken to complete further consideration will drop dramatically once the backlog has been cleared. In order to clarify how far the work being undertaken to clear the backlog of cases is the main cause of the length of time taken to resolve cases subject to further consideration, the PHSO should find a way to present the information on the time involved in case resolution by giving separate figures for those cases which are part of the COVID-19 backlog and those others which have been received since the end of the pandemic.
Government Response Summary
The PHSO reported that it returned to normal operating levels by March 2024 and is close to meeting its KPI targets for case closure times, providing overall performance metrics. However, it did not commit to presenting separate figures for COVID-19 backlog cases versus new cases as recommended.
Paragraph Reference:
16
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
We welcome the Committee’s acknowledgement of our efforts to reduce the backlog of cases from the Covid period, which resulted in queuing times of decreasing duration, during 2022–23 and 2023–24. This has been a primary area of focus for PHSO. We are pleased to report that by March 2024 we returned to normal operating levels. Preliminary data for 2023–24 (which will be finalised in our annual report) shows that in 2023–24, we are close to delivering against our KPI targets, which has been made possible due to the successful reduction of the backlog of cases. We are now closing 44% of cases within 13 weeks, 67% within 26 weeks and 84% within 52 weeks - compared to 40%, 51% and 77% respectively in 2022–23. to respond to demand and provide a high-quality and timely service.