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Dept for Work and Pensions

Answer

Kali Mountford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement about the inspection report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate in respect of (a) the London Borough of Enfield and (b) Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. [76865] Malcolm Wicks: The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate's (BFI) inspection report on the London Borough of Enfield was published on 18 September 2002 and copies of the report were placed in the Library. The BFI reports that the council's management of the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit was poor with weaknesses in many areas. Access to the benefits system was not sound and the council did not ensure that claims were right from day one. Information was not routinely verified or cross checked and management was not monitoring performance. This significantly increased the risk of fraud and error at the outset of the claim. The council did not detect when payments went wrong and take prompt action to correct them with appropriate penalties to deter a recurrence. Delays in dealing with changes of circumstances have increased the number and level of preventable overpayments. Considerable delays occurred in the assessment and payment of benefit. Management was not monitoring the processes to ensure that bottlenecks and backlogs were quickly identified as they appeared. This caused hardships to claimants and by failing to make payments on account in appropriate cases the council increased this. Insufficient resources were devoted to recovering overpayments of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. As a result, the council was failing to control the level of outstanding debt. The BFI also found that the council's counter fraud performance was poor. Weaknesses were identified in the management of the investigation team and the quality of the investigative work. The council is commended for its commitment to its anti-poverty strategy and for promoting the take up of benefit. Its dedicated team has helped Enfield residents to receive more than £12 million in new and additional welfare benefits since 1996. The report concludes that the council needs to improve the management and effectiveness of its working practices within the benefit service in order to deliver its corporate vision. The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate's (BFI) inspection report on Wakefield Metropolitan District Council was published on 9 October 2002 and copies of the report were placed in the Library. The report finds that in March 2001, the council completed a Best Value Review of the benefits function. The review identified a need to improve in key areas such as claims processing, management checking and overpayment administration. The report finds performance in these key areas is poor. However, BFI recognises the efforts being made by the council to improve performance. The council's practices for processing benefit claims differed across its 13 sites, and there was a 6 weeks backlog of work creating queries and complaints. The council was intending to centralise its benefit function as an answer to many of its problems, however insufficient plans for centralisation had been produced. Whilst the report finds examples of good practices, it found differing levels of performance and procedures across the council. The inconsistent verification of benefit claims and low levels of management checks were identified as key weaknesses, increasing the risk of fraud and error entering the benefit system. The council intends implementing the Verification Framework before March 2003 and it was improving its corporate performance measurement framework. These initiatives combined with centralisation should put the council in a position to provide a much improved benefits service. The report finds very poor performance in the council's administration of overpayments of benefit, with benefit debt increasing and errors being made. However, the council was enhancing its IT system to improve its performance in overpayment administration. The council had a sound approach to countering fraud and corruption, and had undertaken some good quality fraud prosecutions. The report concludes that there is a clear need for the council to improve its benefit performance as the inspection identified many cases of poor performance. However, BFI was encouraged that the council was aware of the challenges it was facing, and with the level of interest shown by elected Members, both in the inspection and the benefit service. In 1999-2000, Wakefield Metropolitan District Council administered approximately £65.2 million in housing benefits.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

76865; 391 c135-6W

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Council tax benefits Abuse Administration Housing benefit Fraud Inspections Social security benefits Standards Wakefield Enfield Benefit Fraud Inspectorate Enfield Council Wakefield Council

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk