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Housing Benefit
Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the 10 (a) best and (b) worst performing local authorities in England in terms of (i) average time taken to process a claim for housing benefit and (ii) the number of housing benefit awards reviewed and subsequently found to be incorrect. [108984]
Angela Eagle: The information is not available.
We aim to transform the delivery of Housing Benefit so that local authorities provide their communities with a faster, more accurate service which is more secure against fraud and error, and which provides value for money and takes account of the views and needs of clients. Best value performance indicators will target these key areas from this April. Local authorities will be required to set and meet challenging targets against the indicators and demonstrate that they are achieving continuous improvements in the standards of service they provide.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of housing benefit claimants who are (a) tenants of registered social landlords and (b) tenants of private landlords are affected by the four weeks in arrears rule; and what is the average weekly level of housing benefit paid to tenants in both of those groups. [109366]
| Tenants of registered social landlords | Tenants of private landlords | |
|---|---|---|
| All recipients | 840,000 | 971,000 |
| Paid four weeks in arrears | 242,000 | 352,000 |
| Proportion paid four weeks in arrears--percentage | 29 | 36 |
| Average weekly amount of Housing Benefit | £54.50 | £61.10 |
Notes:
1. Figures are the latest available.
2. The number of recipients are rounded to the nearest thousand, proportions to the nearest whole per cent. and average amounts of benefit to the nearest ten pence.
3. Recipients refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
Source:
Housing Benefit Management Information System, annual 1 per cent. sample inquiries taken on the second Thursday in May 1998.
Mr. Dobbin:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress has been made in the pilot local authorities taking part in the review of housing benefit procedures; and if he will make a statement. [109034]
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Angela Eagle:
Local authorities are involved in a number of initiatives aimed at improving the administration and delivery of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, including several pilots. Through initiatives such as the pilot ONE service, local and central government are working together to streamline the operation of the benefit system and help clients move from welfare into work.
A range of benefits for clients of working age, including Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, are assessed via a single point of contact as part of the ONE service. This offers an opportunity to move away from the duplication and inefficiency of the present system, with customers providing information only once. Clients take part in a work-focused interview where they receive in-depth, individual help from a personal adviser. This puts work, and helping people overcome barriers to work, at the heart of the benefit system.
Twelve pilots are testing three variants of the ONE service over three years. The first four basic model pilots were launched on 28 June 1999. A further eight pilots, four assessing the use of call centre technology and four led by private and voluntary sector organisations, commenced on 29 November 1999.
Fifty-six local authorities are working in partnership with the Benefits Agency and the Employment Service to trial this new way of working. Local authority involvement in ONE is important not only because of the authorities' responsibilities for delivery Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, but also because of their expertise in providing a wide range of local services and information. Local authorities have also provided valuable input to the design and development of the ONE service.
While it is too early to measure the degree of success we have had in helping people move into sustainable employment, the improved level of customer service and the focus on individual needs have been well received by our clients.
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Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what systems are in place to scrutinise the effectiveness of verification framework practices; and when the results of that scrutiny will be published. [109367]
Angela Eagle:
We will use information from a range of sources to monitor the effectiveness of the Verification Framework (VF) in helping local authorities to improve accuracy and reduce fraud and error from entering the Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit system. We have monitored the live running of the VF from its launch and have already made several improvements to the VF in the light of operational experience to enable LAs to focus more on the outcomes that we require rather than specifying detailed process requirements.
The information we will use includes: management information provided by individual local authorities on a quarterly basis; information and reports from representative groups and individuals; inspections made by the BFI and checking compliance with the VF through external auditors at the same time as the normal audit of administration subsidy.
We have also commissioned an independent research company to conduct in depth research with local authorities to evaluate the implementation and operation of the Verification Framework. We plan to publish the findings in early 2001.
We will continue to monitor the VF and will consider further improvements when we have analysed information from the range of sources available.
Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the capital and income disregards for the benefits for which his Department is responsible indicating (a) the increases in levels of disregard for each year since 1997 and (b) the increases that would have been required to match the rate of inflation since 1996. [108824]
Mr. Bayley:
The information is in the table.
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(41)The figures are rounded to the nearest 5 pence at each uprating date.
(42)For income-related benefits the ROSSI index (Retail Prices Index less rent, local taxes and mortgage interest payments) as published by the Office for National Statistics.
(43) The Retail Prices Index (all items) as published by the Office for National Statistics.
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