Audit Commission

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Benefits

The Commission welcomes the opportunity to make a contribution to encouraging improvement in the delivery of benefit services. It also welcomes the opportunity to link inspection to the audit and assurance work it already undertakes for benefit services, with a view to delivering an efficient and effective assurance framework. The case studies below contain some notable examples from our assessments to date.
 
 
Benefit take-up good practice: identifying and targeting potential claimants, marketing and promoting benefit services, reviewing literature design and working with partners.
1 January 2009
Claims processing good practice: efficiency and effectiveness, communicating with residents, working in partnership and improving systems.
12 May 2009
Knowing your community good practice: using equality impact assessments, identifying customers, promoting equal access and staff training and awareness.
12 May 2009
Overpayments good practice: prevention, recovering payments and working in partnership.
12 May 2009
Performance management good practice: service planning, performance management framework, learning from others and challenge.
12 May 2009
Preventing and detecting fraud good practice: fraud prevention, detection, sanction and involving the public.
12 May 2009
Retaining and developing staff good practice: investing in staff, staff satisfaction and engaging staff.
12 May 2009
Value for money good practice: benchmarking, procurement, partnership working and other efficiency savings.
12 May 2009
Working with customers good practice: measuring customer satisfaction, developing customer service standards, working with customers and helping citizens back into work.
26 September 2011
Bradford has developed a more customer-focused service in response to the findings of our inspection.