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Benefit Fraud Inspectorate Report on West Lindsey District Council

On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) inspection report on West Lindsey district council was published on 22 September 2005 and is available in the Library. In 2003–04 West Lindsey district council administered some £13.7 million in housing benefits, about 46 per cent. of its gross revenue expenditure. The council was selected for inspection following BFFs comprehensive performance assessment in October 2003, which highlighted weaknesses in claims processing, overpayments and counter-fraud activity. A number of major improvements had been successfully implemented since then, including a new benefits IT system and organisational changes. West Lindsey district council had improved the speed of processing new claims from an average of 46 days in 2003–04 to 39 days at the time of BFFs inspection in February 2005, just outside the DWP standard of 36 days. Although the council had not fully introduced the verification framework, the evidence gathering to support a claim was generally sound. But the council reported paying the right amount of benefit in only 93 per cent. of cases, which puts it in the bottom quartile for all local authorities. BFI concluded that improvements in the speed of processing new claims had to some extent been at the expense of quality. The number of counter-fraud sanctions, including prosecutions, had increased from 12 in 2003–04 to 43 in the 10 months up to January 2005. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is considering the report and may ask the council for proposals in response to BFFs findings.