Working with other organisations
Introduction
It is important that local authorities (LAs) build positive working partnerships with other stakeholders. Good communication and co-operation between partner organisations make for efficient and effective systems, procedures and service.
Some stakeholders play a key part in handling Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (HB and CTB) claims, such as Jobcentre Plus and the Pension, Disability and Carers Service (PDCS), and formal agreements with them are vital. Effective liaison with landlords will help minimise evictions, but closer working can also result in landlords playing a part in checking evidence. Good understandings are also needed with all bodies with whom the LA is in regular contact.
Effective partnerships with these external organisations will improve the service to the customer and provide mutual benefits through savings in administrative costs and benefit expenditure reducing the amount of fraud and error.
Partnership working
Good practice includes:
- ensuring local Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are in place with organisations connected with benefits delivery. These will include Jobcentre Plus, PDCS, Valuation Office Agency (VOA), the Tribunals Service and Debt Management services. If a national model SLA exists, this should be adopted as the minimum requirement
- adapting national and standardised SLAs to meet local circumstances
- monitoring and reviewing all SLAs in accordance with the arrangements set out in each SLA, with action taken to improve effectiveness and security as indicated by the monitoring report
- maintaining regular contact, supported by formalised and documented working arrangements if considered appropriate, with other organisations, for example Registered Social Landlords (RSLs), registered providers (RP) in England, Citizen Advice (CAB), police, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) or Procurator Fiscal in Scotland
- appointing liaison officers in all parties, with contact points and established procedures, to allow concerns to be raised and disputes resolved
- working effectively with Jobcentre Plus by:
- having day-to-day contact at an operational level with each associated Jobcentre. It is suggested this should be at Financial Assessor Manager (FAM) level in order to resolve case specific queries and be advised about any operational difficulties
- having day-to-day contact at an operational level with each associated Jobcentre Plus Benefit Processing Centre to resolve any issues around specific claims and benefit entitlement
- having strategic contact at a management level, on a quarterly basis, to discuss generic issues. Jobcentre Plus attendees should be present to represent each stage of the Customer Management Service (CMS) new claims process (Contact Centre, Jobcentre and Benefit Processing Centre)
- monitoring timing and quality of LA Input Documents received via Customer Information System (CIS) to feed into the liaison meetings
- having a clear escalation route to the Jobcentre Plus External Relations Manager and ultimately via the central CIS Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Housing Benefit Strategy Division to clear any unresolved issues
- regular attendance at Joint Boards to address any wider Jobcentre Plus issues
- working effectively with PDCS by:
- establishing day-to-day operational links with PDCS
- making staff aware of the process to escalate issues to a named PDCS Liaison Officer if they are unable to be cleared with Pension Centre advisors. If still unresolved refer to PDCS HB/CTB Liaison Team (0141 245 6945)
- attending PDCS geographically-based conferences held each year for LA employees. These conferences cover national issues plus strategy direction which can be useful for exchanging day-to-day experiences and networking
- referring to PDCS Liaison Guidance and Good Practice handbook (144KB)
- developing and maintaining effective working relationships with other organisations when a formal SLA would not be appropriate, such as:
- RSLs
- RPs (in England)
- CPS (England and Wales)
- Procurator Fiscal (Scotland)
- local police
- CAB
- Probation Service
- Social Services (for Districts)
- arranging exchange visits for employees
- having local agreements with RSLs/RPs and the LA Housing Department on:
- the submission of claims
- cases when claims would be better made in person
- the handling of enquiries on claims
- providing RSLs/RPs and the LA Housing Department with up-to-date information on the progress of a claim when this is supported by claimant consent and ensuring landlords can get hold of the information they are entitled to on direct payments
- having a clear understanding between the LA and RSL/RP on the arrangements in place for referring rents to the Rent Officer and effective information flow from RSL/RP to LA on rents including:
- informing the LA in advance of projected rent and service charges on new schemes
- sending the LA prompt information on rent and service charge increases
- providing information on service charges in respect of each benefit claim so the LA can clearly identify what is eligible and ineligible
- having regular two-way communication with landlords on HB administration, which reaches not just larger landlords but also smaller private landlords and their agents and smaller RSLs/RPs
- considering Voluntary Accreditation Schemes for private landlords as proposed by Communities and Local Government.
Working effectively with landlords and minimising repossessions
Good practice includes:
- using some form of consent that is specific about what the landlord can be told, and the LA accepts clear self-standing requests signed by the customer for a landlord or representative to make enquiries on the customer's behalf
- communicating effectively with landlords by providing clear practical advice on the operation of HB, and landlords, including the LA landlord, are actively encouraged to contact the Benefits Service before taking enforcement action for collection of rent arrears when the arrears are due to a delay in the payment of HB
- maintaining effective liaison links with private sector landlords and RSLs/RPs to ensure that tenants are not threatened with court action for rent arrears
- promoting closer working with LA housing departments, RSLs/RPs and private landlords to ensure changes are reported early and effectively
- providing training for RSL/RP and LA Housing Department employees to enable them to provide effective assistance to their tenants in completing HB/CTB claims and supplying appropriate documentation
- carrying out checks to ensure RSLs/RPs are meeting verification standards, including data protection requirements
- targeting help at new landlords, for example:
- a specified officer dealing with landlord enquiries about initial claims
- housing advice services that will help small landlords as well as tenants
- landlord advice leaflets issued to lettings agents, and free copies made available for those who wish to give them to clients
- refer landlords to Communities and Local Government (CLG) guidance on renting and letting
- providing benefit processors with training and written procedural documentation on the circumstances in which payments on account (POA) must be made
- sending a letter to both the landlord and tenant at the same time when a decision is made to make direct payment to the landlord
- making payment to (RSLs/RPs) by electronic transfer when suitable software exists.
- encouraging landlords to give details of cases if delay is causing them problems
- providing advice on verification to enable RSL/RP and other third party employees to verify key documents, helping ensure that complete claims are submitted to the LA resulting in decreased payment delays, arrears and enforcement action
- encouraging landlords to contact the LA through a specified LA contact point, to avoid them taking court action for arrears when the customer is waiting to have their HB entitlement assessed
- supplying landlords, particularly LA and RSL/RP landlords, with case-by-case information on outstanding HB claims, when the tenant has consented to the sharing of information, before court action is taken
- providing training to RSLs/RPs and LA Housing Departments to ensure they are aware of changes in the scheme or its administration that are likely to affect them or their tenants
- encouraging landlords, particularly RSLs/RPs, to ensure that a certificate from the HB section accompanies all applications for possession to the County Court to confirm that there are no outstanding benefit enquiries on the case
- making appropriate and effective use of provisions for direct payment to the landlord ensuring that local policies are consistent with the regulations. Look at each case on its merits and at the facts to consider whether there should be a departure from general policy
- providing written information to landlords advising them of their responsibilities in notifying the LA of any changes
- encouraging landlords to co-operate to prevent overpayments and recovery action against the landlord, and setting out LA policies of co-operation with landlords
- having a corporate approach to arrears management, including a jointly agreed strategy with other departments and agencies such as Jobcentre Plus and PDCS
- unless the tenancy agreement allows overpayments to be recharged as rent, keeping the overpayment debt separately identified – HB overpayments do not count as rent arrears
- notifying the landlord as well as the customer that payment has been suspended, and the reason for the suspension in cases which are landlord direct payment if not related to a suspicion of fraudulent activity on the part of the customer or the landlord
- working with RSLs/RPs/LA landlord-side to encourage the landlord to do a benefit maximisation check as part of all rent recovery procedures
