§ 15. Mr. BrazierTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the administration of the Housing Benefit system. [150497]
§ Angela EagleFollowing years of neglect by previous Governments, improving administration is the biggest challenge facing the Housing Benefit system.
We published our strategy to achieve this in December. One of our first steps is the formation of the expert help team. Working in partnership with local authorities, the team will help authorities turn things around.
§ 23. Mr. BrowneTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he proposes to take to improve the administration of Housing Benefit. [150507]
§ Angela EagleWe recognise that some local authorities provide a better service than others. The Housing Green Paper set out our strategy for reforming the complex and fragmented Housing Benefit system that we inherited. Our priority is to work with local authorities to improve standards, drive our fraud and error and promote work incentives.
Our response to consultation on the Green Paper set out a wide-ranging package of measures to help improve service delivery and streamline the system, making Housing Benefit easier for councils to administer and those in need to claim.
We will work with local authorities to develop the detail and discuss timing for the introduction of these measures.
We have already announced the setting up of the expert help team, which will help those councils committed to working in partnership to develop and manage improvement plans. I am pleased to see that East Ayrshire council is among the first wave of local authorities to take advantage of the help offered by the team.
§ 28. Mr. LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the action he will take against local authorities which have a poor record for addressing Housing Benefit fraud. [150512]
§ Mr. RookerWe are working in partnership with local authorities, through the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) and other agencies, to ensure that the unacceptable levels of fraud and error are reduced. Fighting fraud is fundamental to the good administration of Housing Benefit. If the BFI identifies administrative weaknesses in a local authority, we expect the authority to act quickly to remedy them. Where the BR finds evidence of persistent service failings, we will use our statutory powers to direct the authority concerned on the standards it is to achieve and the time scales for doing so.