Audit Commission

The benefits service provided by Central Bedfordshire Council is 'poor' and has 'poor' 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, which pays out almost £70 million a year in housing and council tax benefits, a 'poor' zero- star rating. The report shows that new claims for benefitsare not paid promptly and that people trying to make contact by phone also experience long delays. The Council has not done enough to encourage residents to claim the benefits they may be entitled to. And failings in the service have cost the Council over £200,000 in lost government income.

Nigel Smith, Audit Commission senior manager, said:

'Central Bedfordshire Council is the slowest in the country at paying people the benefits to which they are entitled. There are very recent signs that things are starting to improve but the rate of improvement is slow. To its credit, the Council recognises that an effective benefits service is vital to support the people most in need within the area, and is beginning to put a recovery plan together.'

Strengths include:

• Staff dealing with customers have a positive approach to customer care.
• Old and vulnerable customers living in rural areas get the help they need.

Weaknesses include:

• People are waiting too long for decisions on their claims.
• The Council has created unnecessary overpayments by not dealing promptly with changes in people's circumstances. It is also not effective at recovering overpayments, which has played a part in its losing out on over £200,000 in government income.
• Access to benefits for some people is difficult, particularly by telephone, leading to high levels of abandoned calls.
• It is not doing anything to encourage benefit take-up.
• Customers who appeal or ask for their claims to be looked at again have to wait too long for a decision.

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

• improving access to the service;
• making payments to customers more quickly and more accurately; and
• developing an action plan to address the issues identified in the inspection report to make sure the service is managed effectively.

Copies of the report are available from Central Bedfordshire Council or from the Audit Commission website at www.audit-commission.gov.uk.

Notes to editors

1. Housing benefit and council tax benefit are national welfare benefits administered by councils for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The benefits service in Central Bedfordshire Council pays out around £68 million a year to over 29,000 households. The cost of running the service in 2009/10 was £2.35 million, of which £1.6 million is funded by the DWP.
2. Central Bedfordshire Council is one of nine new unitary councils which replaced 44 former councils from 1 April 2009. This has meant merging many services of the former councils. The Commission, in consultation with the DWP, has undertaken to inspect the merged benefits service ofeach of the new councils during 2010/11.
3. The Audit Commission is an independent watchdog, driving economy, efficiency and effectiveness in local public services to deliver better outcomes for everyone.
4. 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.
5. On 13 August 2010 the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced that he plans to disband the Audit Commission. His intention is to have new arrangements in place for auditing England's public bodies by 2012/13.

For more details about the role of the Audit Commission visit www.audit-commission.gov.uk

For more information, or for a copy of the full report, contact Eric Ludlow, Communications Manager for Central and Eastern England, on 0844 798 4183.