Continuing problems of the CMS system for the Jobcentre Plus

As I have reported a number of times over the past year, the CMS (Customer Management System) for Jobcentre Plus is still suffering problems.

Government fears run benefits

I have always felt this system doesn’t take account of the needs of those who it is supposed to serve, i.e. those wanting and needing to sign on.

It now claims that 94% of calls are dealt with in the day, but that still leaves in excess of 1,000 calls a day missed. That is too much, way too much. One of my main gripes with this system is that by being phone based, it is penalising the deaf.

Citizens Advice Help

As noted by the Citizens Advice, it is a real problem for those unable to use the phone

This is the government view

But none of them answer the question, what happens to those who for whatever reason are simply not able to use the phone. No mention is made of Typetalk, no mention is made for those who struggle to hear on the phone. So basically the idea is to exclude many from the rights that they are entitled to.

I think someone’s head should roll for this, this system hasn’t been thought out and was done with one purpose in mind to remove over 11,000 jobs.

The minister who some of the blame can be laid at Jim Murphy, who is the minister for employment and welfare reform. Although he says they have change the approach since March when the CMS was branded a catastrophic failure, one would guess nothing is any better now than it was then.