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Written Ministerial Statements

Tuesday 28 January 2003

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefit Fraud Inspection (Telford and Wrekin Council)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Malcolm Wicks): On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) inspection report on Telford and Wrekin Council was published today and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

The BFI undertook its first inspection of Telford and Wrekin Council's housing benefits administration and counter-fraud activity during October and December 1998. BFI reported that the authority needed to develop a more secure and accurate benefits administration system and improve the overall quality of its benefits service.

This follow-up inspection considered the progress made by the authority since the first inspection and in particular its implementation of recommendations. BFI commends the progress made by the council in undertaking a major restructuring exercise to bring together the management of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. This had resulted in clear focus on customer service and processing, replacing IT systems and introducing a system for document image processing.

Recovery of overpayments was identified in the first inspection as the council's weakest area. This follow-up report finds that improvement in identification, classification and recording of overpayments are still needed.

In the first inspection, BFI found problems in the way claimants' residency and identity was verified. This follow-up report finds that the council has made significant improvements in verification, and considers that the council is well placed to implement the Verification Framework.

This report finds that positive steps have been taken to address previous concerns in the areas of IT, post opening and cheque dispatch. In particular, a quality control team has been created to ensure that accuracy checks are made.

This report also finds that counter-fraud efforts have increased significantly since the first inspection with more proactive investigation work. More staff have been deployed and staff training has improved. In addition, the council has introduced a case management system.

In 2000–01, Telford and Wrekin Council administered approximately £38.7 million in housing benefits. This is approximately 21 per cent. of its total gross revenue expenditure.

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The report makes recommendations to help the council address the remaining weaknesses and to further improve the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, as well as counter-fraud activities.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the council for its proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.

Benefit Fraud Inspection (Fife Council)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Malcolm Wicks): On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) inspection report on Fife Council was published today and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

This report finds that the council has responded to the challenges of re-organisation. However, there is considerable scope for further improvement particularly in verifying claims. BFI found significant weaknesses in verifying identity and residence as well as income and capital.

Following BFI inspection, the council reported working towards implementing two modules of the Verification Framework by April 2003. To do this effectively, the council needs to draw up a detailed implementation plan, showing key milestone dates and clear roles and responsibilities for those involved.

The report finds that the council's claim form is broadly effective in gathering the right information and is reasonably straightforward to understand and complete. However, there is room for further improvement.

The council plans to make more use of prosecution and administrative penalties against fraudsters, and to support this crucial change the council is creating a dedicated prosecution team.

The report finds that the council needs to improve the recovery of overpayments, including those incurred through fraud, from rent rebate claimants.

In 2000–01, Fife Council administered approximately £81 million in housing benefits.

The report makes recommendations to help the council address the remaining weaknesses and to further improve the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, as well as counter-fraud activities.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the council for its proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.

CABINET OFFICE

Delegations/Authorisations made in 2002 under the Civil Service (Management Functions) Act 1992

The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr. Douglas Alexander): No such delegations or authorisations were made during 2002.

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ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

English Fisheries Package

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Margaret Beckett): At the meeting of the Council of Agriculture and Fisheries Ministers in December a number of important decisions were taken on fisheries measures to help restore depleted stocks. Necessarily they include real new constraints on fishing and the Government recognises that they may impact on some coastal fisheries communities. We have already promised to respond with financial assistance which will address the needs, and promote sustainability, both in the fishing industry and local communities, and I am now able to set this out in more detail.

We propose to provide grants to help vessel owners who wish to do so, to leave the industry by decommissioning their boats. An SI will be laid before Parliament for approval. The intention is to remove 15–20 per cent. of the English fleet's fishing effort on cod in the North Sea and West of Scotland, in order to bring the fleet capacity better into line with fishing opportunities. Similar schemes are proposed by the Scottish Executive and in Northern Ireland. Decommissioning of this scale in the UK fleet will secure the 15 day per month allowance for fishing in the new interim EU scheme for limiting time at sea. Detailed rules for targeting the scheme and for assessing applications for grant will be developed in discussion with the English catching industry shortly. A tendering process is expected to apply and the cost in England is likely to reach £5 million.

The EU decided in December that to improve control of fisheries the requirement to install satellite tracking equipment on vessels should be extended to 15–24 metre boats. To help fishermen Defra will provide £400,000 over two years to allow 40 per cent. grant to be paid towards the cost of the terminals and their installation.

There will also be help for fishing-dependent communities. Regional Development Agencies, which have responsibility for economic development and regeneration in England, are already engaged, in strong local partnerships, targeted on the economic development of coastal communities.

It is important that fishermen have access to the help that is provided by local Business Links, Learning and Skills Councils and JobCentre Plus. I have therefore asked the RDAs, working with and coordinating the activity of these partnerships, to urgently ensure that arrangements are in place to ensure the effective delivery of assistance and guidance for local fishing communities particularly affected, taking full account of the recent decisions and their impact on those communities.

RDAs and other agencies have substantial resources to address their economic and social responsibilities. However, where necessary, Defra will provide additional resources for facilitation to ensure that the services which are most needed are identified in those fishing communities which are dependent on the fish stocks of the North Sea and West of Scotland.

The National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations has emphasised the importance of strengthening the involvement of the fishing industry in

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the assessment of stocks, in close partnership with our scientists. We warmly welcome their approach, which will help to ensure a fuller appreciation of the state of and prospects for fish stocks . We will provide additional funds for this purpose and will consult them on how this initiative might best be taken forward.

An additional £1million will be provided to finance both the facilitation arrangements described above and industry involvement with the scientists, as well as providing the potential for other priority initiatives in recognition of the English industry's transitional problems.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Local Government Elections Review

The Minister for Local Government and the Regions (Mr. Nick Raynsford): We are looking at all sorts of ways to encourage more people to use their vote, including using modern technology such as mobile phones and the internet. I believe the electorate of the 21st Century expect a cycle of local elections that is clear and readily understood, so we have asked the Electoral Commission to look at options for simplifying the current arrangements.

This follows the commitment in the Local Government White Paper—"Strong Local Leadership, Quality Public Services"—to invite the Electoral Commission to propose options to simplify the current cycle of local elections. I have today asked the Electoral Commission to undertake a review under Section 6(2) of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

The Electoral Commission will consult widely during the review and will identify options for change in a report to be submitted to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister by the end of January next year. The options may include proposals for changes in councillors' terms of office and local authorities' electoral arrangements. The Commission's report will include an assessment of the desirability and practicality of the options identified. It will also recommend how the proposed options might be implemented.

As part of the review the Electoral Commission will consider the relationship between local government elections and other elections such as elections to this House and to the European Parliament. The Commission will also look at cases where elections currently fall in close proximity of time to each other, and the combination (or otherwise) of local government elections with other elections. The views of the Electoral Commission have been sought separately on the proposal to combine the European and local government elections in 2004.

The Terms of Reference ask that the Electoral Commission have regard to the extent to which an option for change:

would improve councils' democratic legitimacy and local accountability;


would enable the electorate and public generally to easily understand when elections are to be held and their purpose;

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would be likely to improve participation of the local electorate in the electoral process, including participation of specific groups—such as young people and ethnic minorities—where participation in the process is particularly low;


would be likely to facilitate the effective management of local authorities and particularly performance improvements in the case of local authorities categorised as "poor performers" in the Comprehensive Performance Assessments; and


might be facilitated by possible new ways of polling, including increased postal voting, electronic counting and multi channel e-voting.

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