Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Good Practice Guide

Introduction

Purpose of guide

The main purpose of this guide is to help local authorities (LAs):

• manage their benefits services more effectively and efficiently; and
• provide some context and set out how the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will work with individual LAs to support performance improvement

It has been built up over time through contributions from key stakeholders and organisations, such as individual LAs and DWP’s Performance Development Team (PDT).

Where possible, we have attempted to provide good practice that could be applied across a range of different LAs, regardless of their size, location and main customer demographic. However, as with all good practice, it is up to each LA to decide what and how much of the content to adopt. Much will depend on LAs’ existing set-ups and processes in place. Some of the good practice provides guidance in setting up what might be new ways of working, such as shared services and joint working.

We have produced the guide as an electronic version only and throughout the guide you will find links to other useful websites and resources.

Background - Overview of the HB/CTB Performance Framework

Performance indicators

DWP’s priority for the administration of all benefits is to pay customers the right benefits at the right time and this is reflected in the Department's Strategic Objective 6. ¹

Across Great Britain, LAs have significantly improved the standard to which they administer HB/CTB. However, despite these improvements wide variations in performance remain. DWP’s priority for HB/CTB is to ensure that all LAs provide an effective and efficient benefit service that is protected against fraud and error.

To reflect this priority DWP has set two HB/CTB performance indicators for use from April 2008 covering the:

• number of changes to customers' HB/CTB benefit entitlement that are established and processed by the LA in a year (the Right Benefit Indicator)
• average time taken in calendar days to process all new claims and change events in HB/CTB (the Right Time Indicator).

These two indicators replaced the 18 performance measures against which all LAs were previously required to report performance under the old HB/CTB performance framework which ran until end of March 2008.

LAs need to continue to perform well in the areas previously measured to perform well against the right time and right benefit performance indicators.

LA performance against many of these former measures will be captured through Key Management Information (KMI) derived from the Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE).

Setting levels of service

DWP does not set national targets for the two HB/CTB indicators, on the basis that LAs should be seeking to deliver continuous improvement and that LAs who  are doing less well should be looking to make the greatest improvements.

Consequently, DWP expects LAs, in managing their own benefits services, to set their own levels of service against the performance indicators. LAs may also wish to measure performance across a range of activities to help them deliver against the indicators or other aspects of the service, such as responding to queries and dealing with requests for reconsideration or recovery of overpayments.

Collection of Performance Information

DWP collects performance information for the two performance indicators, right time and right benefit, via the SHBE. LAs submit data extracts from their benefit systems on a monthly basis.This process has replaced all but one clerical return. The one remaining clerical return, the Housing Benefit, Recoveries and Fraud (HBRF) return, reports overpayment recoveries and fraud investigations. It is not yet possible to collect this information via the SHBE.

In addition to the two performance indicators, other KMI will be derived from the SHBE and made available in due course.

The SHBE is a valuable source of information which DWP can use to help inform and evaluate policy, combat fraud and error and inform the distribution of the HB/CTB administration subsidy.

DWP monitoring of Right Time and Right Benefit indicators

DWP will analyse performance data for the right benefit indicator, according to the principles outlined in the good practice for Monitoring and assessing performance found in Part 1 of the guide. DWP will also use other management information available through the SHBE to help diagnose areas of activity which may be contributing to poor performance against the both indicators.

Where concerns about performance arise – for instance, if a LA is performing less well than the majority of LAs or if there is a sudden deterioration in performance – DWP will consider making contact with LAs to discuss performance, offering support and advice and considering whether any further action may be required. DWP will work closely with the audit bodies and/or devolved administrations as necessary and, in England, through consultation with Government Offices (GOs). DWP may also offer free consultancy support from its PDT.

DWP will share information on performance as appropriate in each country with GOs, the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales and the relevant audit bodies to help inform assessment, inspection and audit programmes.

Performance Development Team Support

The PDT is comprised of 15 performance specialists and works with individual and groups of LAs to help them become more efficient and improve performance.

The team's help is paid for by DWP but LAs have to invest the time and resources needed to achieve improvements. LAs are responsible for delivering improvement plans. In return for our investment, the PDT simply asks that authorities keep DWP informed of progress so that it can be sure improvements in the delivery of public services are realised.

The PDT is available to assist LAs in areas such as:

• working with councils to eliminate delay and duplication from their processes and increase their effectiveness and efficiency using, for example, Lean principles and reducing the time taken to obtain information in support of a claim
• helping councils explore the feasibility of sharing HB/CTB services to generate economies and efficiencies
• assisting councils that want to improve their management of HB/CTB overpayments so that loss is minimised through more efficient and effective prevention and recovery action
• developing partnerships with groups or individual councils to help them plan, implement and manage specific projects, for example:
  • home working
  • management of overpayments
  • minimising loss of subsidy.

Assessment and Inspection

The audit bodies for England, Scotland and Wales set their own work programmes for assessing and reporting on HB/CTB services. The approach they take reflects the different arrangements that are in place in the country in which they operate.

DWP liaises with the audit bodies so that there is a broad understanding about what’s important in a HB/CTB service from DWP’s perspective, taking account of good practice and performance levels.

Assessment and inspection follow-up action

If a report on HB/CTB is issued by an audit body that suggests a need for follow-up action, DWP will liaise with the relevant audit body and the relevant GO/devolved administration to decide what action should be taken. This co-ordinated approach could include a range of activities such as seeking an improvement plan from the LA in question, offering support from the Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs) or from elsewhere within the local government sector, GOs, the PDT or, in extreme cases, formal direction of an LA. DWP retains statutory powers ² that permit the Secretary of State to issue directions to an LA to improve its performance.

How to use this guide

The guide is divided into three main parts:

• Part One – Good Practice – contains all the good practice.
• Part Two – Helpful tools and checklists – contains useful resources, such as helpful tools and checklists.
• Part Three – Claim form design good practice – contains good practice guidance for producing forms.

Updates

The guide is regularly reviewed to ensure it remains up to date and relevant. All important new additions and changes to the guide are shown on the Updates page.

Contact us with your comments

We hope LAs will find this guide useful and are keen to receive your feedback. If you have any suggestions for new material or ideas on improving the guide, please email your comments, with the subject heading 'Good Practice Guide' to: performance-framework@dwp.gsi.gov.uk.

Footnotes

1 DWP Strategic Objective 6 - Pay our customers the right benefits at the right time supported by indicators for:

• proportion of benefit expenditure overpaid or underpaid due to fraud and error
• time taken to process new claims to benefits and changes in circumstances, including Housing and Council Tax Benefits.

2 Social Security Administration Act 1992

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