8 March 2005 - Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) Focused Inspection Report: Copeland Borough Council
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Alan Johnson has today published a report by the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) on the processing of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit claims by Copeland Borough Council.
In 2003/04, Copeland Borough Council administered some £20 million in housing benefits, 53 per cent of its gross revenue expenditure.
Copeland Borough Council was selected for a focused inspection on processing of claims of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit claims to identify the practices that had led to a sharp improvement in the time taken to process new claims. For the quarter ending 30 September 2003, it reported it was taking on average 57 days to process new claims which was much improved from 87 days reported in 2002/03 performance.
At the time of the inspection in November 2004 the Council was processing new claims well outside the standard of 36 days and was in the bottom quartile of performance for all councils. Accuracy was poor and the reported performance for accuracy was in the bottom quartile for this indicator of performance as well.
Inadequate analysis of the quality of work done, inconsistent management checking and poor management information meant that performance could not be monitored effectively and that the Council could not identify the reasons for poor performance nor the opportunities to improve.
Coincidental with BFI’s inspection and in acknowledgement of its poor performance the Council is undertaking an ambitious change programme and has already introduced an interim new structure for the Benefits service, implemented a document imaging processing system and moved into new premises. A new Benefits IT system is planned for 2005.
The Council has Performance Standards funding to employ consultants to assist its change programme. Copeland Borough Council has recognised that staff development, including management training and mentoring, will be necessary to improve its services.
The Council addressed many of the issues identified during the course of the inspection.
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.
Notes for editors
- Inspection at Copeland 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 November 2004.
- The Minister for Housing Benefit and Anti-Fraud, Chris Pond announced in January 2004 that the BFI would undertake focused inspections to provide quick improvements in performance in specific areas of benefits administration.
- 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 Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit 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.
- This report only looked at those elements of Strategic Management, Customer service and Processing of Claims in the Performance Standards that BFI considered to have a direct impact on the speed of processing of new claims for HB and CTB.
- 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
BFI Press enquiries: 01423 83 2938
Out of hours: 07659 108 883
Public enquiries: 020 7712 2171