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Benefit Fraud Inspectorate Report on Copeland Borough Council

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. Chris Pond): On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the BFI focused inspection report on Copeland borough council was published on 8 March and copies of the report are available in the Library.

In 2003–04, Copeland borough council administered some £20 million in housing benefits, 53 per cent. of its gross revenue expenditure.

On 29 January 2004, Official Report, column 18WS, I announced that the BFI would undertake focused inspections to provide quick improvements in performance in specific areas of benefits administration. This inspection concentrated on processing of claims for housing benefit and council tax benefit.

At the time of the inspection in November the council was processing new claims well outside the standard of 36 days and was in the bottom quartile of performance for all councils. Accuracy was poor and the reported performance was in the bottom quartile for this indicator of performance as well.

Inadequate analysis of the quality of work done, inconsistent management checking and a poor management information system meant that performance could not be monitored effectively and that the council should not identify the reasons for poor performance nor the opportunities to improve.

Coincidental with the BFI's inspection and in acknowledgement of its poor performance the council is now undertaking an ambitious change programme, and has introduced an interim new structure for the benefits service, implemented a document imaging processing system and moved into new premises. A new benefits IT system is planned for 2005.

The council has performance standard funding to employ consultants to assist its change programme. Copeland borough council has recognised that staff development, including management training and mentoring, will be necessary to improve its services.

The council addressed many of the issues identified during the course of the inspection.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and may ask the council for its proposals in response to the BFI's findings.

Benefit Fraud Inspectorate Report on Fylde Borough Council

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. Chris Pond): On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the BFI inspection report on Fylde borough council was published on 8 March and copies of the report are available in the Library.

Following the housing Green Paper "Quality and Choice: A Decent Home for All", published in April 2000, the Department for Work and Pensions developed a performance framework for housing benefits. The performance standards allow local authorities to make a comprehensive self-assessment of whether they deliver benefit effectively and securely. They are the standards that the Department for Work and Pensions expects local authorities to aspire to and achieve in time.
 
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In 2003–04, Fylde borough council administered some £12 million in housing benefits, about 48 per cent. of its gross revenue expenditure.

The BFI inspected the council against the performance standards for housing benefits and finds that the council is not at standard for any of the seven functional areas of the performance standards—strategic management, customer services, processing of claims, working with landlords, internal security, counter-fraud and overpayments. However, it has strengths in all areas and overall Fylde borough council was performing to a fair standard.

To deliver strong and enduring improvement the council needs better strategic management, operational targets and performance monitoring systems. It should also seek to encourage the active involvement of senior officers and elected members in benefits matters.

The council has successfully tackled a backlog of benefit claims and performance has steadily improved since 2003. In August 2004 the council reported that it had achieved the performance standards for processing new claims (36 days) and changes of circumstances (nine days).

The council provides a high quality service to customers in terms of handling personal callers, telephone enquiries, correspondence and complaints. Customer surveys show a high level of customer satisfaction.

The council is responsive to the risks of benefit fraud and has experienced and professionally trained staff applying a full range of sanctions and key processes. Arrangements for recovering overpayments are not fully effective, however this weakness has been identified and extra resources have been allocated to reduce the amount of overpaid benefit.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and may ask the council for its proposals in response to the BFI's findings and recommendations.

Benefit Fraud (Torridge)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. Chris Pond): On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the BFI inspection report on Torridge district council was published on 8 March and copies of the report are available in the Library.

Following the housing Green Paper "Quality and Choice: A Decent Home for All", published in April 2000, the Department for Work and Pensions developed a performance framework for housing benefits. The performance standards allow local authorities to make a comprehensive self-assessment of whether they deliver benefit effectively and securely. They are the standards that the Department for Work and Pensions expects local authorities to aspire to and achieve in time.

In 2003–04, Torridge district council administered some £10 million in housing benefits, 31 per cent. of its gross revenue expenditure.

BFI inspected Torridge district council against the performance standards for housing benefits and finds that the council is not at standard for any of the seven functional areas of the performance standards—
 
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strategic management, customer services, processing of claims, working with landlords, internal security, counter-fraud and overpayments. Torridge district council is in the bottom 15 per cent. of all local authorities for claims processing performance and is providing a poor service overall.

The benefits service has been given a low priority within the council for several years and this is reflected in its consistently poor overall performance. There is a lack of effective management at strategic and operational level, and members and senior managers have failed to address weaknesses that have been apparent for at least two years.

Service improvements have been hindered by the lack of a strategic service delivery plan and formal policies and procedures. Managers have been running the service with limited management information and checks.

Coincidental with the inspection a reorganisation of benefits services had taken place and the case for additional resources was being addressed. There is now a commitment to improve the service provided to customers.

While good progress has been made in countering fraud, little is done to recover overpayments.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and may ask the council for its proposals in response to the BFI's findings and recommendations.

Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (Race Relations Act)

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Chris Pond): On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the BFI Race Relations Act update report was published on 8 March and copies of the report are available in the Library.

All inspectorates are to promote compliance with the Race Relations Act. BFI published its first Race Relations Act report in May 2003 on the extent to which 10 randomly selected local authorities' benefit services complied with the requirements of the Race Relations Act, as amended by the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. Since then BFI has worked with the Commission for Racial Equality and the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that the requirements of the Race Relations Act were incorporated in performance standards for the administration of housing benefits.
 
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This second BFI report in this important area is based on 15 BFI inspection reports published since May 2003. It shows that no local authorities were meeting all the criteria relating to the Race Relations Act as set out in performance standards. At the time of BFI's inspections, four of the 15 local authorities had assessed the impact of proposed policies, or monitored the impact of existing policies, on race equality and two local authorities that failed to meet this requirement had a large ethnic minority population.

The report notes that eight local authorities had not provided training on the requirements of the Race Relations Act. However, areas of good practice were identified in the 15 local authorities and BFI is pleased to report there was widespread compliance with the requirement to produce a race equality scheme.

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