medium                                                                                                                                         Housing and Council Tax Benefit Survey
   

Dear local resident,

We are interested in your recent experience of dealing with the Housing and Council Tax Benefits service. The information you provide will be treated confidentially, we will not pass your information to anyone else - it will only be used by the Benefits Service to help make improvements in the future.

All completed surveys will be entered in to a prize draw for a £50 shopping voucher!

Helpful hints for completing this questionnaire:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

* Please read each question carefully and tick a box to indicate your answer.

* Some questions include an 'other' option, if you would like to include an answer other than one of those listed please write your answer in the space provided.

* The questionnaire should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete.

OR if you would prefer you can complete this survey online by logging on to www.northumberland.gov.uk/surveyrb10

Please complete online, or return by freepost envelope by Friday 26th of February 2010.

Thank you in advance for your time.
SECTION A: HOW DID YOU FIRST HEAR ABOUT AND CONTACT US?
Q1 When did you last contact the Benefit Service?
 
Q2 How did you hear about us?
 
 
Q3 Was your claim for housing and/or Council Tax benefit directly with us or with another organisation?
 
 
SECTION B: THE CLAIM EXPERIENCE
Q4 When you submitted a claim for Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit was it successful?
 
When you submitted a claim for Housing and/or Council Tax Benefit how far do you agree with the following: (Please tick one box per question)
Q4a The time taken for you to receive the application form
 
 
 
 
 
Q4b The time taken to process your claim for benefit
 
 
 
 
 
Q4c The proof/volume of information required
 
 
 
 
 
Q4d The ease of completing application form
 
 
 
 
 
Q4e The written guidance provided was
 
 
 
 
 
Q4f Staff helpfulness
 
 
 
 
 
Q4g Staff understanding of my individual circumstances
 
 
 
 
 
Q5 How do you prefer to contact us, or keep us informed about your changes in circumstances in the future?
 
 
 
 
 
Q6 How would you prefer us to contact you?
 
 
 
 
   
 
Q7 How would you like us to keep you updated about the progress of your claim?
 
 
 
 
   
 
Q8a Have you ever claimed before and then withdrawn your claim or not followed it up?
 
 
Q8b Have any of the following stopped you from making a claim?
 
 
SECTION C: BENEFIT DECISION NOTICE - THIS IS THE LETTER WHICH INFORMS YOU OF OUR DECISION REGARDING YOUR CLAIM FOR BENEFIT:
Q9 The letter is easy to understand
 
 
 
 
 
Q10 Did you seek help from the Benefits staff to understand this letter?
 
 
Q11 If yes, how satisfied were you with the explanation given to you?
 
 
 
 
 
SECTION D: STAFF ASSISTANCE
Q12 Thinking about your query was it dealt with by:
 
 
 
Q13 Were the staff in the local office friendly and helpful?
 
 
 
 
 
Q14 Were you confident that the staff gave you the correct information / advice?
 
 
 
 
 
Q15 Did you understand what was explained to you?
 
 
 
Q16 Were you able to ask all the questions you wanted to?
 
 
 
Q17 Do you feel the staff had time to deal with your claim/enquiry?
 
 
 
Q18 Do you feel the staff treated you with respect?
 
 
 
SECTION E: OFFICES
Q19 If you visited a customer service contact point, please tick which one:
 
Q20 How long did you have to wait to be seen by the relevant person?
 
 
 
 
 
Q21 Were you satisfied with the length of time it took to see the relevant person?
 
 
 
 
 
Q22 Were you offered the option to talk in private?
 
 
 
Q23 Office opening times are currently Monday - Friday 08:30 - 17:00 (Excluding public holidays), are these opening hours acceptable for you?
 
 
Q24 Which of these opening times would be of more use to you? Please tick all that apply.
 
 
Q25 How did you find the facilities in the waiting area?
 
 
 
 
 
Q26
Q27 How easy do you find it to get to the nearest office?
 
 
 
 
 
SECTION F: TELEPHONE ASSISTANCE
Q28 Have you telephoned your local office?
 
Q28a If you rang the office was the telephone number:
 
 
Q28b If you rang the office, how quickly was your phone call answered?
 
 
 
 
 
Q28c When calling the office were you transferred between several different people?
 
 
 
 
 
SECTION G: WEBSITE
Q29 Do you have access to the internet?
 
Q30 If yes, have you visited Northumberland County Council's website?
 
Q31 If yes, how easy was the website to use?
 
 
 
 
SECTION H: OVERALL SATISFACTION
Q32 Taking everything into account, how satisfied are you with the service provided in relation to your claim(s)?
 
 
 
 
 
SECTION I: ABOUT YOU
The following questions will only be used to monitor the different groups making use of the benefit office's services. All individual responses will be kept absolutely confidential.
Q33 Are you:
 
 
Q34 What is your age?
 
Q35 Which of the following applies to you:
 
 
Q36 Do you consider yourself to have any of the following disabilities / conditions?
 
 
To which of these groups do you consider you belong?
Q37a White
 
b Mixed race
 
 
 
c Asian or Asian British
 
 
 
d Black or Black British
 
 
 
   
e Chinese or other ethnic group
 
 
f Prefer not to say  
Q38 What is your religion?
 
Q39 In which of these ways do you occupy your home?
 
 
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ENTERED IN TO A FREE PRIZE DRAW, PLEASE COMPLETE ALL OF THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS
Q40 Would you be interested in taking part in a Revenue & Benefits user group?
 
Q41
 
Q42
Q43
Q44

Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire.

If you need this information in Large Print, Braille, Audio or in another format or language please contact us:-

Telephone      0845 600 6400
Fax                 01670 511413
Text phone     01670 542521
Typetalk         018001 0845 600 6400
Email         ask@northumberland.gov.uk
 
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