2 December 2004 - Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) report: Chester-le-Street District Council
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Alan Johnson has today published an inspection report by the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) on the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit and counter-fraud activity by Chester-le- Street District Council.
In 2003/04, Chester-le-Street District Council administered some £11 million in housing benefits, about 34 per cent of its gross revenue expenditure.
BFI inspected the council against the Performance Standards, 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.
The report notes the council has made progress in addressing some of the weaknesses BFI highlighted in the comprehensive Performance Assessment that took place in October 2003 when BFI considered the Benefits service to be providing a poor performance.
In May 2004, the Benefits service undertook a full self-assessment of its performance against the Performance Standards and assessed itself to be providing a Fair standard of service. BFI validated this self-assessment and can confirm that the council is providing a Fair standard of service.
However, there are still several issues that the council needs to address. There is no performance monitoring at a corporate level and the Benefits service has not developed specific performance measures and targets to facilitate the monitoring of progress towards its objectives
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The service’s objectives are not prioritised and there is no link between these and individual job descriptions.
The BFI reports that Counter-fraud performance has suffered because attention has been focused on claims processing. This has resulted in insufficient resources and a lack of effective counter-fraud measures.
The council has developed a service improvement plan and there is now an effective electronic procedures manual to guide staff. Verification procedures are strictly followed and the council has introduced a claim form based upon the Department’s model.
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.
Chris Pond, Work and Pensions Minister announced the publication of the report in a written ministerial statement.
Notes for editors
- The process for the inspection at Chester-le-Street District 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 June 2004.
- 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 customers 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 customers 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.asp
- 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.
Press office: 020 7238 0866
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Website: www.dwp.gov.uk