PAPER B
ADULT
AND COMMUNITY SERVICES SELECT COMMITTEE – 28 APRIL 2005
HOUSING AND COUNCIL TAX
BENEFITS PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
REPORT OF THE PORTFOLIO HOLDER FOR RESOURCES
REASON FOR SELECT COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
To update members on the Benefit performance Standards and the action and improvement plans developed in response to the report by the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate and from the Best Value Review of the Benefits Service.
ACTION REQUIRED BY THE SELECT COMMITTEE
The Committee is asked to
replace the current action plan with a plan based on the new version of the
performance standards.
BACKGROUND
Following their inspection of the Council’s benefit service in July 2003 the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI) made a number of recommendations to ensure that the benefit service became fully compliant with the benefit performance standards. In addition the Best Value review of benefits identified several areas for improvement.
An action plan was developed to implement both the BFI recommendations and Best Value improvements and this committee has received updates on this plan with almost all of the requirements now being met.
The overall progress on the action plan was highlighted by the CPA update for benefits which was completed in September 2004 by the BFI, this identified that the Benefits service was meeting 95% of the performance standards as well as being within the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) target of 36 days for processing new claims and 9 days for processing changes in circumstance. As a result of this the Benefit service received a CPA score of 4.
The last progress report advised the committee that the benefit performance standards on which this action plan is based were being rewritten with a new version likely to be released in April 2005.
This new version is now available and sets out four themes:
· Claims administration
· Security
· User focus
· Resource management
Within these four themes there are 19 performance measures including a number of the existing best value performance indicators and 65 enablers which set out a strategy, policy, procedure or practice that every authority should have in place.
Much of the content of these enablers is already in place but a full assessment of the new requirements is currently being carried out to ascertain what action we need to take. Once this assessment has been completed a new action plan will be developed and presented to this committee for approval.
The DWP have indicated that all unitary authorities will be judged on these new standards for this years CPA review of benefits which is planned to take place in August/September.
RELEVANT PLANS, POLICIES, STRATEGIES AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
CONSULTATION PROCESS
Extensive
consultation was carried out as a part of the Best Value Review. This included
a range of difficult to reach users each with different needs; Housing
Associations and private landlords; the Pension Service, Job Centre Plus, and
the Inland Revenue; support agencies including Age Concern; and Revenues and
Benefits staff. In drawing up the action plan for the new performance standards
stakeholders will be consulted.
FINANCIAL, LEGAL, CRIME AND DISORDER IMPLICATIONS
No extra resources are required to deliver the improvement plan. There are no specific legal or crime and disorder implications.
APPENDICES ATTACHED
BACKGROUND PAPERS USED IN THE PREPARATION OF THIS REPORT
Benefit Fraud Inspectorate Report and Update Report.
Benefit Performance Standards 2005
Contact Point: Mike Toney ( 823930 [email protected]
COUNCILLOR REG BARRY
Portfolio Holder for Resources