HC Deb 24 October 2001 vol 373 cc243-9W
Brian White

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish the report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate in respect of Blyth Valley district council. [10553]

Malcolm Wicks

The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report was published today in respect of Blyth Valley district council and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

The BFI first inspected Blyth Valley district council in October 1999 and found significant weaknesses in the administration of Housing and Council Tax Benefit and counter fraud work. At its follow-up inspection, in April 2001, inspectors confirmed substantial improvements, with progress and developments in the vast majority of areas.

The report notes that through the commitment and enthusiasm of members, managers and staff, the council has achieved a significant improvement in performance in combating fraud and error. This is highlighted by the fact that 42 of the 44 recommendations from the first report have been implemented or are in the process of being implemented.

Inspectors consider that benefits administration and overpayment recovery now has the necessary resources and management information in place to enable the council to deliver an effective service, while the implementation of a comprehensive checking regime has enabled the council to identify and focus on priority issues and proactively manage its operations.

The council has addressed the main issues identified in BFI's first report concerning its counter fraud activities. However, BFI considers it has focused too heavily on claiming Weekly Benefit Savings. It is now moving to a more sanction and deterrence based operation. As its Weekly Benefit Savings claims are fairly accurate, inspectors conclude there is a sound basis for this move, which will ensure the council provides a value-for-money deterrent to fraud.

Blyth Valley is an excellent example of an authority responding positively and effectively to weaknesses identified by the BFI and thus providing a more secure and accurate benefits service to its community

The report makes recommendations to help the council address remaining weaknesses and to further improve the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, as well as its counter fraud activities.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the council for its proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.

Brian White

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish the report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate in respect of Kerrier district council. [10552]

Malcolm Wicks

The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report was published today in respect of Kerrier district council and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

During the inspection the council was implementing a new management structure and inspectors found a positive improvement in performance as a result. At the time of inspection, BFI found the longstanding backlog of work was significantly reduced.

The report notes the standard of evidence in support of claims was variable. The council has now introduced the Verification Framework, which should address some of the previous weaknesses but inspectors consider management checking needs to be improved to underpin this.

Inspectors report that the council failed to make payments of benefit on account where this was required and consider that improvements need to be made in the risk management of Housing Benefit claims, including the use of shorter benefit periods.

BFI found evidence of improved performance in the work being carried out by fraud staff including tighter systems and management controls of investigation work. Inspectors found the council had implemented new procedures and set up a dedicated team resulting in high levels of overpayment recovery.

The report makes recommendations to help the council address weaknesses and to improve the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, as well as its counter fraud activities.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the council for its proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.

Brian White

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish the report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate in respect of the Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea. [10554]

Malcolm Wicks

The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report in respect of the Royal borough of Kensington and Chelsea was published on 21 August 2001 and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

BFI inspectors consider the standard of customer service provided by the council to those claiming benefit to be very good. Efforts are made to ensure that those who may be able to claim are identified and the council deals quickly with benefit callers. A customer satisfaction survey in July 2000 revealed an overall level of satisfaction of 82 per cent.

Inspectors found no backlogs of work with 95 per cent. of claims paid within the timescale required by legislation. The BFI report notes that there is a high level of payment accuracy. The council is introducing the Verification Framework in stages to avoid a negative impact on performance.

The report notes that the effectiveness of the management checks could be further improved if extended to cover all aspects of benefit processing.

A number of weaknesses in the management and investigation of fraud work were identified by inspectors, but the report notes the council has recently taken steps to address these and has a good record of applying sanctions to those committing fraud.

The BFI's report includes recommendations to help the council further improve its administration and counter fraud activity for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the council for its proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.

Brian White

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish the report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate in respect of the borough of Broxbourne. [10555]

Malcolm Wicks

The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report in respect of the borough of Broxbourne was published on 26 July 2001 and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

BFI's first inspection of the borough of Broxbourne in March 1998 found significant weaknesses in the administration of Housing and Council Tax Benefit and counter fraud work. The follow-up inspection, in October 2000, confirmed substantial progress and developments in many areas of work, although inspectors also found scope for further improvement.

Inspectors consider the council's implementation of the Verification Framework has been comprehensive. BFI found the council improved public access to benefits information and assistance, and now has effective joint working with BA. The report notes, however, that the previous problems of backlogs of work and slow processing were still in evidence.

Inspectors found that the council's IT system did not provide adequate information on the management of overpayments; however, the report does note that the council has made substantial progress in its administration of overpayments since the first BFI inspection.

The report makes particular mention of the council's strong focus of counter fraud work on the quality of investigation and sanctions.

Inspectors consider that the council has sufficient systems in place to ensure the effectiveness and quality of the housing benefit and council tax benefit administration and counter fraud work. The previous lack of monitoring of the contractor has improved and inspectors conclude the council now has effective monitoring mechanisms in place.

The report notes that since the BFI's last inspection, Members have been taking a close interest in the progress of the Housing Benefit section.

The BFI's report includes recommendations to help the council further improve its administration and counter fraud activity for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the council for its proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.

Brian White

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish the report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate in respect of Three Rivers district council. [10551]

Malcolm Wicks

The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report in respect of Three Rivers district council was published on 23 August 2001 and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

The BFI report notes the council has been working towards meeting the standards of the Verification Framework since February 2000. BFI found that some areas of verification of claims were good, although inspectors identified other areas that needed improvement.

The BFI report notes the council's counter fraud activity is effective, with a well-resourced fraud team. As a result, it is able to produce high quality investigations. In contrast, the housing benefit team does not have enough staff to meet customer expectations.

Inspectors consider that the introduction of the Customer Services Centre did not help the performance of the Housing Benefit team as anticipated. The team is also hindered by poor management information.

The council has taken steps to improve overpayments collection by utilising the debtors' module of its benefits system.

Overall BFI concludes that the council have done much to eradicate fraud, but needs to improve the verification of claims and recovery of Housing Benefit overpayments. The council is planning to address a number of the weaknesses identified in the report and demonstrated its commitment to improve the administration of HB and CTB in Three Rivers district council.

The BFI's report makes recommendations to help the council address weaknesses and to improve the administration and counter fraud activity of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the council for its proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.

Brian White

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish the report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate in respect of East Lothian council. [10549]

Malcolm Wicks

The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report in respect of the East Lothian council was published on 18 September 2001 and copies of the report have been placed in the Library. This is the second report on East Lothian council by BFI.

The BFI expressed major concern with the lack of demonstrable commitment at senior manager level to address issues highlighted by the first BFI inspection. Relatively few of the major recommendations from the first inspection had been fully implemented in areas such as the provision of management information, system security and overpayment recovery where long standing weaknesses were identified.

The report finds the council had made little or no attempt to tackle serious shortcomings in benefit administration. Inspectors found that it was extremely difficult to assess performance in benefit administration and overpayment management because the council was unable to provide any reliable data for the previous two financial years. Additionally, the BFI was particularly concerned that a number of matters which had been reported to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (formerly Department of Social Security) as having been addressed were still found to be problematical. In particular, the report finds little evidence of sustained improvement in the council's strategic and operational management.

The report recognises that some definite improvements have been made in areas such as day-to-day claims processing and fraud investigation. Also there is praise for the commitment of front line staff.

The report makes recommendations to help the council address weaknesses and to improve the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, as well as its counter fraud activities.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the council for its proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.

Brian White

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish the report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate in respect of the London borough of Haringey. [10548]

Malcolm Wicks

The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report in respect of the London borough of Haringey was published on 18 September 2001 and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

Inspectors report that the council has made considerable improvements in many areas, particularly in re-designing processes to improve performance. Quality improvements have been less dramatic and the report recommends that the council should now focus on these areas to make further gains in the effectiveness and security of its service.

The speed of processing new claims was found to be very good but weaknesses in verifying evidence were identified and a similar pattern was found with renewal claims.

The council's counter-fraud efforts are meeting with some success but inspectors consider further work is needed in controlling and recovering over-payments. The council had over £15 million in benefit over-payment debt which, at the time of the inspectors' visit, was continuing to rise. The report notes that there was evidence that serious efforts were being made to recover this. The Report makes recommendations that, when implemented, will strengthen these.

The report makes recommendations to help the council address weaknesses and to improve the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, as well as its counter fraud activities.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the council for its proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.

Brian White

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish the report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate in respect of the London borough of Bromley. [10547]

Malcolm Wicks

The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report in respect of the London borough of Bromley was published on 12 September 2001 and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

Inspectors report variable standards of claim verification and identify improvements needed in this area and on the speed of processing claims. The report recommends more rigorous management and controls to improve the quality and consistency of checking and to ensure that guidance is followed.

The report notes that the council has a strong culture of probity at officer and Member level and that it recognises the need to draw together existing policies on probity into a single fraud and corruption policy. The BFI's findings show that Bromley's performance in tackling fraud was found to be ineffective in its organisation and investigation quality. A number of recommendations to tackle this are contained within the report.

The report notes the council welcomed the inspection as an opportunity to review and improve its benefit operations. The council has expressed its commitment to improving the security and integrity of the benefits system and modernising all its services using e-govenment.

Since the inspection, Bromley has begun to implement recommended changes, such as increasing staffing in the client unit. Full implementation of the recommendations contained in the report should enable it to build a more secure and efficient benefits system.

The report makes recommendations to help the council address weaknesses and to improve the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, as well as its counter fraud activities.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the council for its proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.

Brian White

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish the report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate into the Benefits Agency's closer working arrangements with local authorities. [10550]

Malcolm Wicks

The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report in respect of the Benefits Agency (BA) was published on 28 September 2001 and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

Inspectors report that their investigation took place at a time when significant changes were taking place in the organisation with the start of a major project to focus substantial resources on supporting the frontline delivery of services to customers. There was also a great deal of work underway to develop and improve the relationship with local authorities.

BFI found areas where the BA needed to make improvements in order to ensure benefit payments were free from fraud and error. These include training BA staff in Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit issues, improving the recovery of Housing Benefit overpayments, and better checking of identities and more effective exchange of information with local authority counter fraud staff.

Inspectors consider there needs to be a higher profile on closer working with local authorities within BA.

The report notes that changes made in BA should have a positive impact on counter fraud activity, especially the appointment of a Chief Investigation Officer and Head of Profession for counter fraud activity. The appointments should lead to a clearer strategic direction and raise the profile of closer working on counter fraud.

Inspectors also consider the introduction of BA's Performance Improvement Action Teams to support equalisation of performance amongst BA offices should also have a positive impact on several of the areas of weakness identified in the report.

We are determined that we take every measure to bear down on fraud and error and we want to ensure that the work of the best is duplicated right through the organisation.

The report makes 49 recommendations to help the Benefits Agency address weaknesses and to improve its closer working arrangements with local authorities.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the Agency for its proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.