HMRC claims IT progress

HM Revenue and Customs has claimed progress in two key areas of the information management strategy, with improvements in handling risk and managing data for National Insurance and PAYE (NPS). The department's Annual Reports and Accounts 2010-11 says it has met its target for the roll out of its Secure Electronic Transfer (SET) service, with 80% of its outbound file transfers going through the system. This was one of the actions taken in response to the loss of child benefit data in 2007, and was designed to improve the security of high volume electronic data transfers. Other governance and assurance measures have been taken, including the pilot of an improved security incident capture tool. This is intended to identify the causes of any incidents and trends so the department can reduce the probability of any repeats, and is scheduled to be rolled out over this financial year. In addition, the senior information risk owner has sponsored a cyber oversight group and cyber working group to deal with stakeholders from other departments and manage investments in the area. HMRC has also claimed to have improved its data cleansing and made progress in stabilising the NPS, an issue that was raised in last week's National Audit Office report on its performance . A new computer system set up for the purpose has processed a larger volume of data and raised the rate of accuracy for annual coding from about 80% to over 98%. "Some large employers tell us that these are the most accurate codes for many years," the report says. It also highlights the rationalisation of its 0845 number telephone helplines for PAYE queries, with the 61 being reduced to just one. The department is reviewing its numbering strategy as it acknowledges that the cost of an 0845 call is an issue for some customers. This article is published by Guardian Professional. For weekly updates of news, debate and best practice on public sector IT, join the Government Computing Network here .