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WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefit Fraud Inspectorate Report on Allerdale Borough Council

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. James Plaskitt): On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) inspection report on Allerdale borough council was published on 22 September 2005 and is available in the Library.

In 2003–04, Allerdale borough council administered some £22 million in housing benefits, about 36 per cent. of its gross revenue expenditure. Overall, the inspection found that Allerdale borough council was performing to a good standard. However, the report raises concerns about significant areas of weakness in claims administration, overpayments and resource management.

Allerdale borough council took 46 days to process new claims for housing benefits in 2004–05 against the DWP standard of 36 days. Inefficient practices were creating unnecessary delays at each stage of the claims process and the council was failing to ensure that the evidence provided by its customers met the requirements of the verification framework. The percentage of claims decided within 14 days of receiving all information and the time taken to process changes of circumstances had both deteriorated during 2004–05.

There had been a significant increase in the volume of overpayments identified, and a decline in overpayment recovery performance. BFI concluded that a lack of strategic direction and accountability, inconsistent practices and inadequate levels of assurance had led to major failings within overpayments.

An anti-fraud policy and strategy document supported by a business plan and realistic operational targets had been set for the Fraud Investigation Unit. An analysis of selected fraud files showed that the standard of investigation work was good in most cases.

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

Benefit Fraud Inspectorate Report on Bridgnorth District Council

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. James Plaskitt): On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) inspection report on Bridgnorth district council was published on 22 September 2005 and is available in the Library.

In 2004–05, Bridgnorth district council administered some £8.3 million in housing benefits, about 31 per cent. of its gross revenue expenditure. The council was one of nine councils inspected by BFI as part of its examination of local authorities' response to the security against fraud and error (SAFE) scheme.

Bridgnorth district council had a strong anti-fraud culture and gave a high priority to combating benefit fraud. The council had a history of prosecuting fraudsters even before the introduction of financial incentives through the SAFE scheme.
 
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Benefit assessment staff generated a high number of fraud referrals and there were a number of good practices within the fraud team, such as well-structured interviews under caution. Although there were no written procedures covering counter-fraud work and limited management checking, the fraud team was well motivated and had achieved a high output of sanctions and prosecutions, particularly in relation to the caseload. This was very impressive in comparison with other similar sized local authorities. There were some weaknesses in earlier fraud investigations but BFI was satisfied that these had since been addressed. BFI was also satisfied that payments under the SAFE scheme had been properly claimed.

Some improvement was needed in the way that fraud files were maintained and in the recording of decisions on sanctions. The council also needs to do more to recover administrative penalties and publicise successful prosecutions.

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

Benefit Fraud Inspectorate Report on Broxtowe Borough Council

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. James Plaskitt): On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) inspection report on Broxtowe borough council was published on 22 September 2005 and is available in the Library.

In 2004–05, Broxtowe borough council administered some £17 million in housing benefits, about 44 per cent. of its gross revenue expenditure. In April 2005, BFI carried out an inspection on the council's housing benefit and council tax benefit administration and counter-fraud arrangements.

Inspectors found there was a great deal of commitment and professionalism in the council's efforts to administer HB and CTB and counter-fraud work, together with a determination to improve on good performance achieved.

By processing new claims quickly and accurately, the quality of service provided to the council's customers and key stakeholders was of a high standard. The council ensured delays and errors in the assessment of new claims were minimised by making good use of management information to monitor the amount of work received, processed and outstanding.

However, delays occurred in the assessment of changes of circumstances. The council needed to minimise these delays, which increase the number and level of preventable overpayments. The council also needed to improve the management of HB and CTB overpayments to control the level of outstanding debt and increase overpayment recovery.

The council's performance in verifying new claims and changes of circumstances was very impressive. As information and evidence was routinely verified and crosschecked the risk of fraud and error at the outset and during the life of a claim was significantly reduced.
 
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The absence of clear management responsibility and accountability for counter-fraud work undermined the council's approach to the detection, investigation and deterrence of fraud. Better checking and review of investigators' work is necessary to help ensure that investigations were of appropriate quality.

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

Benefit Fraud Inspectorate Report on Inverclyde Council's Processing of Claims for Housing Benefits

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. James Plaskitt): On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Benefot Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) report inspection report on Inverclyde council was published on 22 September 2005 and is available in the Library.

In 2004–05, Inverclyde council administered some £34.9 million in housing benefits, about 13 per cent. of its gross revenue expenditure. In May 2005, BFI carried out a focused inspection on the processing of new claims for housing benefit and council tax benefit by Inverclyde council.

The council was selected because it was taking on average 71 days, against the national standard of 36 days, to process new claims for the period April to June 2004. Since January 2005 the council has shown consistent improvement in its performance, achieving 33 days by April 2005. However, the council's focus on improving speed of processing has meant that other areas have lacked attention, particularly accuracy levels. The council could also do more in terms of performance monitoring, making effective use of internal and external audit reports and staff training..

The council lacked correct management information, key performance targets and objectives and did not monitor performance well. However, staff are committed to tackle the problems and said they will use the BFI report to complement an existing service improvement initiative.

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

Benefit Fraud Inspectorate Report on West Lindsey District Council

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr. James Plaskitt): On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) inspection report on West Lindsey district council was published on 22 September 2005 and is available in the Library.

In 2003–04 West Lindsey district council administered some £13.7 million in housing benefits, about 46 per cent. of its gross revenue expenditure. The council was selected for inspection following BFFs comprehensive performance assessment in October 2003, which highlighted weaknesses in claims processing, overpayments and counter-fraud activity. A number of major improvements had been successfully implemented since then, including a new benefits IT system and organisational changes. West Lindsey
 
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district council had improved the speed of processing new claims from an average of 46 days in 2003–04 to 39 days at the time of BFFs inspection in February 2005, just outside the DWP standard of 36 days. Although the council had not fully introduced the verification framework, the evidence gathering to support a claim was generally sound. But the council reported paying the right amount of benefit in only 93 per cent. of cases, which puts it in the bottom quartile for all local authorities. BFI concluded that improvements in the speed of processing new claims had to some extent been at the expense of quality.

The number of counter-fraud sanctions, including prosecutions, had increased from 12 in 2003–04 to 43 in the 10 months up to January 2005. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is considering the report and may ask the council for proposals in response to BFFs findings.

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