§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the extent of delays in the payment of housing benefit; and if he will make a statement. [17866]
§ Malcolm WicksOur housing policy statement "Quality and Choice: A decent home for all—The way forward for housing" (December 2000) recognised that the fundamental challenge facing housing benefit is its administration. Problems with administering housing benefit can result in unacceptable levels of fraud and error, as well as backlogs of delayed claims.
Our immediate priority has therefore been to work in partnership with local authorities to improve standards of administration. For example, we have established the Help Team which offers practical advice and support to local authorities on ways to improve delivery. The team has already visited Hull, Lambeth, Bristol, Northampton, Derwentside and East Ayrshire. We have also set up a Help Fund to enable local authorities to formulate and implement improvement plans. In addition, we will introduce national performance standards to support the better administration of housing benefit from spring 2002.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans his Department has to increase funding for the Verification Framework. [20599]
§ Malcolm WicksThere will be a 5 per cent. increase in Verification Framework funding from 1 April 2002. This applies to both set-up and on-going funding and is double the increase for 2001–02.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the Verification Framework for Housing Benefit. [20600]
§ Malcolm WicksThe Verification Framework is designed to secure the gateway on to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit by defining the minimum standards for collecting evidence before a claim can be paid. As at 30 November 2001, 263 authorities have applied for or received funds to adopt the Framework. Of those 263 there are 240 authorities who are now fully compliant with the scheme.
684WWe continue to keep the Verification Framework under regular review. During the summer we worked in partnership with local authorities on proposals to simplify the Framework.
From April 2002 we will split the Verification Framework into three modules which can be introduced in stages. This, combined with other smaller administrative easements, will make it easier for local authorities to introduce and administer the Framework while maintaining a rigorous approach to preventing fraud and error.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many local authorities are achieving the claim processing times for Housing Benefit that were in existence prior to the implementation of the Verification Framework. [20601]
§ Malcolm WicksPrior to the introduction of Best Value Performance Indicators in April 2000, information was not collected from local authorities on the length of time taken to process Housing Benefit claims. Under Best Value, information on average processing times is collected from English local authorities by the Audit Commission on behalf of the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR). Final performance figures for 2000–01 will be published by DTLR early in 2002.
Performance indicators for Scotland and Wales are the responsibility of the Accounts Commission for Scotland and the National Assembly for Wales respectively.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact of the Verification Framework on the number of claims being made for Housing Benefit. [20602]
§ Malcolm WicksSince 1997 there has been a year on year reduction in the number of people claiming Housing Benefit. It is not possible to determine how much of this reduction, if any, is due to the introduction of the Verification Framework. The fall can be attributed to a variety of factors including lower unemployment, demographic changes and our initiatives to secure the gateway on to Housing Benefit. The Department is currently carrying out an assessment of the impact of the Verification Framework which may provide more information as to its impact on Housing Benefit caseloads.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans his Department has to make the measures entitled Do Not Redirect in the Verification Framework compulsory [20603]
§ Malcolm WicksThe Verification Framework and the Royal Mail Do Not Redirect schemes are not at present compulsory. However, we are monitoring closely take-up of these schemes and we would not rule out this option, should take-up prove to be unsatisfactory over time.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims for housing benefit are waiting to be processed as a result of delays caused by the verification framework. [20607]
§ Malcolm WicksThe information is not available.
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