8 March 2005 - Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) Report: Fylde Borough Council
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Alan Johnson, has today published an inspection report by the BFI on the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit and counter-fraud activity by Fylde Borough Council.
In 2003/04, Fylde Borough Council administered some £11.7 million in housing benefits, about 48 per cent of its gross revenue expenditure.
BFI inspected the Council against the Performance Standards and 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.
However, it has strengths in all areas and, overall, Fylde Borough Council was performing to a fair standard in its Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit administration and counter-fraud activities.
The council has successfully tackled a backlog of benefit claims and performance has steadily improved since 2003. In August 2004 the council reported that it had achieved the Performance Standards for processing new claims and changes of circumstances, 36 days and 9 days respectively.
To deliver strong and enduring improvement the Council needs better strategic management, operational targets and performance monitoring systems. It should also seek to encourage the active involvement of senior officers and elected Members in benefits matters.
The Council provides a high quality service to customers in terms of handling personal callers, telephone enquiries, correspondence and complaints. Customer surveys show a high level of customer satisfaction.
The Council was responsive to the risks of benefit fraud and has experienced and professionally trained staff applying a full range of sanctions and key processes.
Arrangements for recovering overpayments were not fully effective, however this weakness had been identified and extra resources allocated to reduce the amount of overpaid benefit.
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 Fylde 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 August 2004.
- 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.
- 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.
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