29 June 2005 - Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) Inspection Report on Mid Suffolk District Council
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, David Blunkett, has today published an inspection report by the BFI on Mid Suffolk District Council's processing of claims to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
In 2003/04, Mid Suffolk District Council administered some £6.6 million in housing benefits, about 29 per cent of its gross revenue expenditure. In the final quarter of 2003/04 the council was taking 96 days on average to process new claims for housing benefits against the Standard of 36 days. This placed it in the bottom 15 per cent of local authorities for reported performance.
During 2003/04, the council introduced a new Benefits IT system, recruited Benefits managers and addressed other resourcing issues in the Benefits service. Reported claims processing performance dipped in the period following the introduction of the new Benefits IT system. However, a recovery plan was agreed and the backlog of work was managed impressively and cleared between April and October 2004. This was reflected in a dramatic improvement in the speed of processing new claims, to 29 days by October 2004. Verification of claims was also being undertaken to a high standard.
The council acknowledged that the improved performance was achieved at the expense of management assurance and indicated that it intended to implement improvements in assurance as a priority. Mid Suffolk District Council also needs to develop procedural guidance and structure its approach to training staff.
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, anti-fraud Minister, announced the publication of the report in a written ministerial statement.
Notes to Editors
- 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.
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