2 December 2004 - Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) report: Merthyr Tydfil County Borough 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 Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council.
In 2002/03, Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council administered some £11 million in housing benefits, about 10 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, and overpayments. BFI found the council to be providing a poor Benefits service.
BFI reports that there have been some improvements in the Benefits service following a critical Corporate Governance Inspection by the Audit Commission in Wales in January 2003. However, there remains significant work to be done to deliver an effective and secure Benefits service.
BFI found levels of inaccuracy to be 90 per cent of new claims processing and 75 per cent for changes of circumstances. The council also had a poor record of recovering overpayments and the absence of management checks and controls meant that performance was not properly monitored.
The council recognised the need to improve the service, has developed an action plan to address the report recommendations and asked for help from BFI’s Performance Improvement Action Team.
The report acknowledges a number of strengths in the council’s counter-fraud work, including a corporate prosecution policy, effective use of all types of sanctions, liaison with the Counter-Fraud Investigation Service and appropriate and effective use of authorised individuals powers.
The council had carried out a number of good quality fraud investigations but had not followed all through to a logical conclusion resulting in only 11 prosecutions between April 2001 and March 2004.
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 Merthyr Tidfil County Borough 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 May 2004.
- A Welsh translated version of the BFI inspection report has been produced and published simultaneously.
- 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