14 April 2004 - Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) Follow-up Report: London Borough of Ealing Council
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Andrew Smith has today published a follow-up inspection report by the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) on the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit and counter-fraud activity by London Borough of Ealing Council.
BFI inspected the council against the Performance Standards for housing benefits. The report found that the council was not at standard for any of the seven functional areas – strategic management, customer services, processing of claims, working with landlords, internal security, counter-fraud, and overpayments.
However, the report concludes that the council had made sustained improvements in a number of areas since the earlier BFI inspection report, published in December 2000.
The council had made significant improvements in reducing its backlog of work, from 46,000 cases in December 2000 to 4,000 cases in October 2003.
Ealing council had also made significant improvements in its processing times for new benefit claims and changes of circumstances, reducing from 137 days and 3 months at the time of the first inspection to 51 days and 15 days respectively.
Improvements in the quality of service provided are reflected in high levels of customer satisfaction, with 84 per cent of customers reporting they were satisfied with the council's overall service in a survey completed in September 2003.
The council had significantly reduced the amount of overpaid benefit and had carried out a number of good quality fraud investigations, prosecuting 18 benefit fraudsters during 2002/03. However, the council still needs to do more to deter fraud and recover overpayments of benefit.
In 2002/03, London Borough of Ealing Council administered approximately £121.2 million in housing benefits. This is approximately 18 per cent of its gross revenue expenditure.
BFI is an independent unit within the Department for Work and Pensions that reports directly to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the standard of benefit administration and counter-fraud activity.
Notes for editors
- The process for the follow-up inspection at London Borough of Ealing Council included an initial fact finding stage, an on-site visit, and production and clearance of the report. The on-site visit took place during October 2003.
- BFI published its first inspection report on London Borough of Ealing Council in December 2000.
- Each BFI inspection report is considered by the Secretary of State who decides whether any further action is appropriate. The Secretary of State has powers to issue directions to a local authority to secure acceptable or minimum standards in performance.
- In its response to the Housing Green Paper of November 2000, the Department for Work and Pensions developed a performance framework for housing benefits. The HB/CTB Performance Standards, published in April 2002, enable local authorities to make a comprehensive self-assessment of whether they deliver benefit effectively and securely. These are the standards that the Department for Work and Pensions expects local authorities to aspire to and achieve in time.
- The Department for Work and Pensions has not set a timescale for when the standards need to be met by local authorities.
- BFI inspects against the seven functional areas of the Performance Standards:
- Strategic management – clearly stated aims and action, resources and monitoring, with effective training and IT
- Customer services – providing an efficient and prompt service that meets the needs of all claimants and persons with a legitimate interest in a claim
- Processing of claims – speedy and accurate claims processing with effective verification
- Working with landlords – to give private landlords the confidence to let to claimants and to support delivery of social housing
- Internal security – preventing internal fraud
- Counter-fraud – deterring, preventing, detecting and pursuing fraud
- Overpayments – preventing, identifying and recovering overpayments.
- The HB/CTB Performance Standards can be downloaded from: www.dwp.gov.uk/housingbenefit/publications/2003.
- Media copies of the BFI inspection report can be obtained from the Department for Work and Pensions Press Office on: 020 7238 0866.
- All BFI inspection reports can be found on the BFI website – www.bfi.gov.uk.
Department for Work and Pensions press enquiries: 020 7238 0758
BFI Press enquiries: 01423 83 2938
Out of Hours: 07659 108 883
Public enquiries: 020 7712 2171