Audit Commission

The benefits service provided by Daventry District Council is 'fair' and has 'promising prospects for improvement', according to an independent report released today by the Audit Commission.

On a scale from zero to three stars the Audit Commission inspection team gave the service a 'fair', one-star rating. The Council is working hard to improve the service and makes it easy for people claim the benefit they are entitled to. However more needs to be done to make sure payments are accurate.

Nigel Toms, Audit Commission senior manager, said:

'I am pleased to see the improvements the Council has made in its benefits service. It is making it easier for customers to access the service and get the right benefits to people at the right time. It is also heartening to see people being encouraged to claim the benefits they are due as well as tackling the small number of potential fraudsters. But the Council still needs to do more to improve the accuracy of payments.'

Strengths include:

• The Council works well with partners such as local landlords, voluntary organisations and advice workers to help customers claim benefits more easily.
• Forms and information leaflets have been designed with customers in mind making them clear and easy to understand.
• There is good access to the service through a One Stop Shop, offices in libraries and a prompt telephone service. Staff across the Council work well together to help customers.
• Customers have their claims dealt with promptly.

The Council takes benefit fraud seriously and has an effective counter-fraud service.

Weaknesses include:

• Not enough of the benefit that has been wrongly paid is being recovered. The Council is aware of this and has begun to improve its recovery procedures.
• There is no clear understanding of why people do not claim benefits or how successful benefit take-up campaigns are. The Council needs to do more to make sure that people get the benefits they are entitled to.
• The Council is working hard to make sure that more people get the right benefit but payments are still not always accurate.

To help the service improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations. These include:

• Doing more to support customers who need to provide extra information so that benefit is paid quickly.
• Using information about the area to help focus benefit take-up campaigns.
• Adopting a firm approach to recovering overpaid benefit from customers who are able to repay.
• Asking customers what they want and being clear about what they can expect.

Notes to editors

1. Daventry District Council's benefits service is run in-house with 16 full-time equivalent staff. The cost of running the service in 2008/09 was £0.62 million of which 35.8 per cent was met by local taxpayers and the balance through a grant from the Department for Work and Pensions.
2. The Audit Commission is an independent watchdog, driving economy, efficiency and effectiveness in local public services to deliver better outcomes for everyone.
3. Our work across local government, health, housing, community safety and fire and rescue services means that we have a unique perspective. We promote value for money for taxpayers, auditing the £200 billion spent by 11,000 local public bodies.
4. As a force for improvement, we work in partnership to assess local public services and make practical recommendations for promoting a better quality of life for local people.

For more information please contact Eric Ludlow on 0844 798 4183