21 July 2004 - Chiltern District Council’s Benefit Service rated as Excellent
The benefits service at Chiltern District Council is the first to be assessed by the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) as Excellent. The assessment was made against the Performance Standards for housing benefits as part of the continuing Comprehensive Performance Assessment programme.
Chris Pond, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work, said:
“Chiltern District Council has convinced the BFI that it is a high performing authority, providing an Excellent standard of benefits administration for its customers. The Council also demonstrated the highest level of performance against the Best Value performance indicators showing the quality of delivery of its services to customers. This is an inspiring achievement and shows the way for other local authorities”.
BFI’s assessment of the benefits service, made in February 2004, fed into the Audit Commission’s overall assessment of the council as Excellent.
BFI is an independent unit within the Department for Work and Pensions. It reports directly to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the standard of benefit administration and counter-fraud activity.
Notes for editors
- Comprehensive Performance Assessments (CPAs) were introduced by the 2001 Local Government White Paper “Strong Local Leadership – Quality Public Services”. The assessments require the specialist inspectorates and the Audit Commission to judge individual performance sectors (benefits, education, social services etc). These individual judgements are weighted and combined to give an assessment of the local authority’s corporate capability to deliver effective services. The assessment classifies the authority’s level of performance and capacity to improve. This classification in turn determines what level of regulation, inspection and direction the authority will be subject to.
- The CPA provides a baseline that authorities and Government can use to secure improvements. Individual feedback given by the BFI to local authorities on their administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit summarising strengths and weaknesses provides a starting point for them to develop improvement plans. The Benefits service results are directly informing a co-ordinated programme of proportionate BFI inspection and BFI Performance Improvement Action Team support activity, which will underpin improvement plans.
- The Audit Commission uses the BFI’s Benefits service assessment to inform the overall assessment. No authority can be “Excellent” overall if the Benefits service is assessed as “Poor”. CPA is about helping councils deliver better services to local communities. The Audit Commission and other inspectorates carry out assessments under the powers of the Local Government Act 1999.
- The BFI was launched in November 1997 as part of the Government’s initiatives to reduce the high levels of fraud in the social security system. BFI is part of the Department for Work and Pensions, operating independently of those responsible for administering benefits and reporting directly to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
- The BFI inspects social security benefits administration and counter-fraud activity within the Department for Work and Pensions’ operations and local authorities, reporting its findings to the Secretary of State, and publishing its reports to promote good practice.
- 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.
- A summary of BFI’s CPA processes and findings can be found on the BFI website under CPA at: www.bfi.gov.uk.
Department for Work and Pensions press enquiries: 020 7238 0758
BFI press enquiries: 01423 83 2953
Out of hours: 07659 108 883
Public enquiries: 020 7712 2171