§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what assessment he has made of the performance of contractors operating housing benefit administration; and if he will make a statement; [115650]
595W(2) what assessment he has made of the quality of service for housing benefit claimants resident in Hackney and Islington since IT Net was contracted to provide the service; and if he will make a statement. [115651]
§ Angela EagleLocal authorities have a statutory duty to administer the Housing Benefit scheme. We are aware that a small minority of authorities has chosen to contract out support functions for their benefit services and that some have experienced difficulties as a result. It is a matter for the local authorities concerned to draw up and manage robust contracts with their suppliers and to take appropriate steps where contractors are failing to meet their obligations.
From this April, Best Value performance indicators will be the main yardstick against which local authorities' performance will be judged. The indicators we have set for Housing Benefit delivery are designed to ensure that authorities provide their communities with a faster, more accurate service which is more secure against fraud, and which provides value for money and takes account of the views and needs of clients. Local authorities will be required to set challenging targets for improved performance against these indicators year on year.
We are committed to working with local government to modernise and improve public services so as to ensure they are efficient and of high quality and are responsive to the needs of local people. However, we will not hesitate to act where necessary to protect the interests of local people. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has recently announced that where the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate identifies persistent failings in the Housing
596W
Housing benefit administration 1997–98 1998–99 Local Authority LA estimated costs1 DSS specific grant2 LA estimated costs DSS specific grant Barking and Dagenham 496 307 654 329 Barnet 1,869 507 2,086 520 Bexley 506 300 457 313 Brent 3,670 862 3,820 872 Bromley 1,778 473 1,680 490 Camden 3,291 846 3,169 851 City of London 232 30 263 33 Croydon 1,998 646 2,050 627 Ealing 3,745 676 4,177 692 Enfield 2,571 451 2,382 499 Greenwich 4,739 609 3,881 660 Hackney 5,600 1,036 4,529 1,114 Hammersmith and Fulham 2,935 604 2,832 623 Haringey 5,428 954 5,634 913 Harrow 985 291 1,191 298 Havering 915 268 1,021 250 Hillingdon 1,538 336 1,143 343 Hounslow 1,104 417 1,235 416 Islington 3,814 747 3,050 783 Kensington and Chelsea 3,690 523 3,090 525 Kingston upon Thames 485 160 484 154 Lambeth 5,052 1,009 3,679 1,050 Lewisham 6,167 919 7,227 942 Merton 664 300 684 296 Newham 7,363 997 7,691 1,023 Redbridge 1,932 386 2,538 414 Richmond upon Thames 976 225 853 223 Southwark 3,915 936 5,447 962 Sutton 1,209 225 1,190 233 Benefit service that is being provided he will use his statutory powers to direct the authority concerned on the standards it is to meet and the timescales for achieving them.
The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate is due to conduct inspections of the benefit services provided by the London boroughs of Hackney and Islington during the summer.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what advice he has given to housing benefit administrators concerning the processing of applications(a) that are more than six months late and (b) that have been lost by the processing agent. [115649]
§ Angela EagleLocal authorities have an independent statutory duty to administer the Housing Benefit scheme in accordance with the legal framework set by Parliament. The Department issues general guidance to all authorities on the law governing the scheme through the Housing Benefit Guidance Manual and supplementary circulars. Where Housing Benefit claims are delayed or lost it is for the local authority concerned to decide what action to take in the light of the circumstances of each individual case.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will state(a) the total cost of housing benefit administration, (b) the subsidy provided by his Department and (c) the net cost to each London borough for (i) 1997–98 and (ii) 1998–99; and what is his estimate for the current year to date. [115648]
§ Angela EagleInformation is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.
597W
Housing benefit administration 1997–98 1998–99 Local Authority LA estimated costs1 DSS specific grant2 LA estimated costs DSS specific grant Tower Hamlets 2,275 680 2,658 725 Waltham Forest 1,639 624 1,897 663 Wandsworth 2,096 782 2,101 756 Westminster 4,886 723 4,986 712 1 The total expenditure on administration costs used in the calculations are those reported by the authorities to the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) on the RO4 form. Costs reported by Local Authorities can vary widely. The reasons for the differences include the different mix of caseload, their relative complexities to administer, and also the different components included in the total costs expenditure, for example, the treatment of overheads. 2 DSS specific grant only, calculated using a grant allocation formula agreed with the Local Authority Associations. These figures do not include additional funding made available to authorities for anti-fraud work. DETR also pay subsidy for Housing Benefit administration as part of the Revenue Support Grant arrangements. Notes:
1. Information is not yet available for Local Authorities' reported costs for 1999–2000.
2. It is not possible to show the net cost for each London borough as the DETR also make provision for Housing Benefit administration costs within the Revenue Support Grant arrangements.
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on (1) what date he expects local authority verification of the validity of housing benefit applications to commence; [115646]
(2) what estimate he has made of the cost of verification of the validity of housing benefit applications to local authorities; and what additional resources they will receive to accommodate this. [115647]
§ Angela EagleLocal authorities have a statutory duty to administer the Housing Benefit scheme and we are committed to working with local authorities so as to ensure that local services are efficient and of high quality and are responsive to the needs of local people.
We have provided local authorities with the Verification Framework (VF) which is a good practice guide about the secure and accurate administration of Housing Benefit. It sets out the information which must be verified before benefit is paid, specifies what is acceptable as evidence and what checks must be made during the life of a claim. An additional £100 million was made available over three years to help all local authorities implement the VF.
Additionally, from this April, Best Value performance indicators will set challenging targets for local authorities. The indicators we have set for Housing Benefit delivery include new measures of the average time taken to process new claims and notifications of changes of circumstance, and the percentage of renewal claims processed on time.