§ Mr. DobbinTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to make the payment of council tax benefit and housing benefit faster and more efficient. [101367]
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§ Angela EagleWe are committed to driving forward improvements in the benefit services authorities provide so that they are faster, more accurate and more secure whilst also achieving value for money and taking account of the views and needs of local people. A comprehensive range of best value performance indicators for the delivery of Housing and Council Tax Benefit was included in the recent joint DETR and Audit Commission consultation exercise ("Performance Indicators for 2000/2001"). Indicators will be finalised by the end of 1999 and will cover the key aspects of local authorities' performance in delivering Housing and Council Tax Benefit.
A number of initiatives are also currently being developed and implemented in partnership with local authorities to improve the efficiency and speed of Housing and Council Tax Benefit delivery.
Remote Access Terminals are now installed in 346 local authorities. These terminals provide the authorities with direct access to relevant benefit information held by the Benefits Agency and contribute towards reducing the time it takes to process Housing and Council Tax Benefit claims.
The Department has now completed piloting the Electronic Transfer of Data in 20 sites. This initiative, if implemented nationally, will remove the need for approximately 20 million paper transactions each year between Benefit Agency and local authority offices, while reducing transfer time to two working days.