§ Mr. RoyTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish the inspection report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate in respect of North Lanarkshire council. [39536]
§ Malcolm WicksThe Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report was published today in respect of North Lanarkshire council and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.
BFI Inspectors found that North Lanarkshire council is a poor performing authority that needs to make significant improvements to raise standards in almost every aspect of its benefits administration and counter fraud work. The report notes a lack of awareness of what constitutes a safe and secure benefits service at the council, despite an annual expenditure of more than £95 million on housing benefit and council tax benefit.
Inspectors noted that the council was using three different types of claim form and considered that none of them was up to standard. They recommend that North Lanarkshire introduces a single claim form based upon the national BFI model. This is seen as vital to help claimants to provide all the supporting evidence needed for a claim to be worked out accurately from the start.
1321WThe report identifies weaknesses in a number of areas including the monitoring and control of benefit periods, the renewal of claims, and the way that the council deals with changes of circumstances to prevent overpayments. The council did not have a policy covering overpayments of benefit and had no management controls to show that overpayments were being dealt with correctly.
Inspectors also express concern over the council's benefit security procedures. They found that none of the key British Safety standards on security controls were being met. Inspectors consider that North Lanarkshire's benefits service is highly vulnerable to internal fraud.
The council's counter fraud policy was not being managed effectively. The report finds that the counter fraud team did not have enough staff to cope with the volume of work. Also, training and management direction was inadequate. Weaknesses were found in the council's IT security procedures, particularly on the standards of information security. The quality of investigative work was poor and inspectors considered that the council did not do enough to prevent fraud nor to deter repeat offenders. 80 per cent. of investigations examined by inspectors were found to be incomplete. Concern was also expressed in the report that the council did not refer cases to the Procurator Fiscal for prosecution.
The report concludes that the council was not effectively managing the administration of benefit or the risks from fraud. Key benefits related policies that were
Scheme rates £ Scheme size Basis 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 Minimum payment per scheme 1 Occupational pensions 2 to 11 Scheme 11.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 — 12 to 99 Member 1.20 1.25 1.25 1.25 — 100 to 999 Member 0.85 0.90 0.90 0.90 125 1,000 to 4,999 Member 0.69 0.70 0.70 0.70 900 5,000 to 9,999 Member 0.53 0.53 0.53 0.53 3,500 10,000+ Member 0.37 0.37 0.37 0.37 5,300 Personal pensions 2 to 11 Scheme 3.75 5.20 5.20 5.20 — 12 to 99 Member 0.35 0.50 0.50 0.50 — 100 to 999 Member 0.25 0.35 0.35 0.35 50 1,000 to 4,999 Member 0.20 0.30 0.30 0.30 350 5,000 to 9,999 Member 0.15 0.20 0.20 0.20 1,500 10,000+ Member 0.10 0.15 0.15 0.15 2,000 1 Minimum payments ensure that schemes in the lower bands do not pay more overall than those the higher bands