Useful links
Please note that the DWP is not responsible for the contents or reliability of the following websites and linking to them should not be considered as an endorsement of any kind. We have no control over the availability of the linked pages.
| Organisation | What they do |
|---|---|
| Appeals Service | Arranges and hears appeals on social security, child support, vaccine damage, tax credit and compensation recovery decisions. |
| Audit Commission | An independent body responsible for ensuring that public money is used economically, efficiently and effectively – appointing external auditors and carrying out national research. |
| Audit Scotland | Provides services to the Accounts Commission and the Auditor General for Scotland. Together they help to ensure that the Scottish Executive and public sector bodies in Scotland are held to account for the proper, efficient and effective use of almost £20 billion of public funds. |
| Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) | The professional body for people working in housing. Their purpose is to maximise the contribution that housing professionals make to the well being of communities. |
| Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy | The leading authority on accountancy and financial management for the public services. |
| Communities and Local Government (CLG) | Has a remit to promote community cohesion and equality and is responsible for housing, urban regeneration, planning and local government. |
| Convention of Scottish Local Authorities | The representative voice of Scotland's unitary local authorities. |
| Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions | In conjunction with other departments, is developing a gateway for local authorities to information produced by central government. |
| Directgov | The easy way for members of the public to access government services on the internet (including all LA sites). |
| Government Offices | Government Office Network is the first port of call for information on the work of the Government Offices for the English Regions. Representing 11 Whitehall Departments, Government Offices are the primary means by which a wide range of Government policies are delivered in the English regions. |
| HM Revenue & Customs | Responsible for the efficient administration of most tax revenue, paying Tax Credits and Child Benefit and strengthening the UK's frontiers. |
| Home Office | The department responsible for internal affairs in England and Wales. |
| Housing Corporation | Responsible for investing public money in housing associations - and for protecting that investment and ensuring it provides decent homes and services for residents. |
| Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) | Established by and for local government, the Agency draws expertise from LAs, the business world, professional service firms, not-for-profit organisations as well as other parts of the public sector. |
| Improvement Network | A partnership between the Audit Commission, the IDeA, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, and the Leadership Centre for Local Government. It supports improvement in the delivery of local public services through addressing the current needs of local councils. It offers practical support for local authority managers and tools to support LAs improvement journey. |
| Improvement Service | Focussed on improving efficiency, quality and the accountability of public services in Scotland through learning, sharing knowledge and delivering improvement solutions. It aims to support continuous improvement. |
| Info4local | Provides quick and easy access to the information you need from central government departments, agencies and public bodies. Subscribe to info4local's email alert to get the latest information from the Housing Benefit website site delivered to your desktop. Select options for the Department for Work and Pension and the benefits subject. |
| Information Commissioner's Office | The UK's independent authority set up to promote access to official information and to protect personal information. |
| Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation (IRRV) | The professional body for local taxation, benefits and valuation – promotes best practice and supports the professional activities of its members. |
| Invest to Save Budget (ISB) | Is about oiling the wheels of partnership. ISB is itself a joint venture between Treasury and Cabinet Office. It provides funds to encourage two or more public bodies to jointly reconfigure elements of their work or to initiate new processes to provide innovative, or streamlined, or simply better modes of service. |
| Jobcentre Plus (JCP) | Part of the DWP, JCP is for people of working age who are claiming benefits. It's there to give people help and support to find work and become independent. |
| Joseph Rowntree Foundation | One of the largest independent social policy research and development charities in the UK. It supports a wide programme of research and development projects in housing, social care and social policy. |
| Local Government Association (LGA) | Represents every LA in England and Wales through its membership - a total of just under 500 - with the aim of promoting better local government. |
| London Councils | Committed to fighting for more resources for London and getting the best possible deal for London's 33 councils. Develops policy, lobbying government and others, and runs a range of services designed to make life better for Londoners. |
| National Housing Federation | The body representing the independent social housing sector. They have around 1,400 non-profit housing organisations currently as members – between them owning or managing around 1.8 million homes. |
| National Indicator Set | The Local Government White Paper Strong and Prosperous Communities published in October last year, committed to introducing a set of streamlined indicators that would reflect national priority outcomes for local authorities working alone or in partnership |
| National Anti-Fraud Network | Used by LAs to co-ordinate activities and share best practice to combat all types of local authority fraud. It also features a ‘Report a Fraud’ facility. |
| Office of Government Commerce (OCG) | An office of HM Treasury. Responsible for improving value for money by driving up standards and capability in procurement. OGC governs all departments’ efficiency gains reported to HMT. |
| Office of Public Sector Information | Among its varied functions, it oversees the printing and publication of all UK legislation and related official materials in traditional print formats and via the internet. |
| Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Parliamentary Ombudsman) | Investigates complaints about cases referred by MPs. |
| Parliament UK | The official site of the United Kingdom Parliament, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It contains news, papers, committee reports, debates and the details of bills. |
| Product Share | Provides a single point of access to some 2,000 products from local government initiatives including the National Projects, e-Innovations and regional partnerships. Provides LA officers with a ‘one-stop shop’ in which to find guidance on how to modernise and improve the way services are delivered. Products include how-to guides, case studies, toolkits, business cases and lessons learned. |
| Public Private Partnerships Programme (4Ps) | The local government procurement expert which offers comprehensive procurement support to LAs. They offer project support, Gateway Reviews, skills development and ‘know-how’ guidance. |
| Regional Centres of Excellence (RCE) | From 1 April, the nine Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs), which represent a merger between the Centres of Excellence and their improvement counterparts, went live (see below). |
| Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnerships (RIEPs) | The RIEPs represent a merger between the Centres of Excellence and their improvement counterparts. |
| Social Security Advisory Committee | The Committee is an independent statutory body set up to advise the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on social security matters. |
| Statistics Authority | Provides an up-to-date, comprehensive and meaningful description of the UK's economy and society. |
| Targeting Benefit Thieves | DWP campaign website tackling benefit theft and fraud – including 'Report a benefit thief' online form. |
| The Scottish Government | The devolved Government for Scotland is responsible for most of the issues of day-to-day concern to the people of Scotland, including health, education, justice, rural affairs, and transport. It manages an annual budget of more than £30 billion in 2007-2008. |
| Wales Audit Office | Covers all sectors of government, except those reserved to the UK government. They promote improvement, so that the people of Wales benefit from accountable, well managed public services that offer the best possible value for money. |
| Welsh Assembly Government | Responsible for most of the issues of day-to-day concern to the people of Wales, including the economy, health, education, and local government. |
| Work and Pensions Commons Select Committee | Official site of the Committee (which replaced the Social Security Commons Select Committee), empowered to examine DWP expenditure, policy and administration. |
