§ Mr. MillerTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he will publish the inspection report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate in respect of Braintree district council. [130672]
§ Mr. RookerThe Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report has been published today in respect of Braintree district council and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.
The report provides recommendations aimed at helping the council address weaknesses and to improve the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, as well as their respective counter fraud activities.
Inspectors found the Benefits Section at Braintree placed a strong emphasis on achieving high levels of speed and efficiency, which compared favourably against the performance of other councils. However, concern is noted that the high priority given to processing claims speedily had been at the expense of ensuring that all payments were secure and valid.
The BFI considered the security of Braintree's benefits system needs to be strengthened in three areas: full compliance with the Verification Framework; fraud investigation; overpayment recovery and classification.
The report notes that Braintree had introduced the Verification Framework eight weeks before Inspectors arrived for the on-site inspection. Although it was still early days, the report notes signs that its introduction was already paying off, by uncovering claims with undeclared income and capital. This was contributing to a reduction in Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit expenditure. The council had also introduced other new security initiatives including the "Do Not Redirect" mail scheme and was using a Remote Access Terminal to access information from the Department and Benefits Agency.
The report illustrates that the council is committed to customer service in their speed of processing claims for benefit. It is encouraging that they have also committed themselves to the Verification Framework which provides a minimum set of standards for ensuring that payment of benefit is made to the right person in circumstances that are checked for correctness.
548WSimilarly, there were 158 unpaid appointments made and 30 per cent. of these were women. The information is set out in the table.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the council for their proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.
§ Mr. Andy KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he will publish the inspection report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate in respect of Eden district council. [130674]
§ Mr. RookerThe Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report has been published today in respect of Eden district council and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.
The report provides recommendations aimed at helping the council address weaknesses and to improve the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, as well as their respective counter fraud activities.
The BFI reports that Eden District Council had a strong commitment to ensuring benefit payments were paid promptly and overpayments recovered wherever possible. The report notes a reasonable standard of verification was being applied to claims and Inspectors anticipated further improvement once the impact is felt of the council's implementation of the Verification Framework.
Inspectors had a number of concerns, which included a lack of information that was necessary to support the council's benefit operations. It is reported that the combination of this and inadequate targets, measurements and procedural guidance meant that management were taking organisational decisions based on insufficient information. In addition minimal management checking provided little assurance that fraud and error was being prevented from entering the council's benefit system.
The report illustrates that the council is committed to customer service in their speed of processing claims for benefit. It is encouraging that they have also committed themselves to the Verification Framework which provides a minimum set of standards for ensuring that payment of benefit payment is made to the right person in circumstances that are checked for correctness.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the council for their proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.