19 July 2005 - Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) Inspection Report on East Staffordshire Borough Council
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, David Blunkett, has today published an inspection report by the BFI on East Staffordshire Borough Council.
In 2003/04 East Staffordshire Borough Council administered some £16 million in housing benefits, about 40 per cent of its gross revenue expenditure. Although the council was not at standard for any of the seven functional areas of Performance Standards it was providing a fair towards good service in Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit administration and counter-fraud activities.
It cut the processing of new claims from an average of 89 days in 2002/03 to an impressive 33 days. A high standard of personal service was being provided to customers by professional, knowledgeable and courteous staff. Readily accessible customer information helped to ensure customer enquiries were dealt with promptly. However, this was let down by very little activity being undertaken to encourage benefit take-up. East Staffordshire Borough Council had recognised this as an area for improvement and planned to increase customer consultation and take-up initiatives in the future.
However, the council had not made full use of available management information and this and inadequate management checking meant there was limited assurance about the accuracy of claims processed.
Efforts to counter fraud were also improving. The requirements of the Verification Framework were being met. A number of sanctions, including successful prosecutions and administrative penalties, had been applied. However, more needs to be done to sustain improvement, including the sifting of referrals and management checks on investigations and the use of a wider range of overpayment recovery methods.
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.
James Plaskitt, Minister for Housing Benefit and Anti-Fraud, announced the publication of the report in a written ministerial statement.
Notes to Editors
- The inspection at East Staffordshire 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 January and February 2005.
- 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.
- 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: 0207 238 0866
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Website: www.dwp.gov.uk