Change of Inspection Style Results in Reduced Council Score for Benefits Service (Milton Keynes Liberal Democrats)

Milton Keynes Liberal Democrats <info@mk-libdems.co.uk>

Change of Inspection Style Results in Reduced Council Score for Benefits Service

July 1, 2009 3:48 PM

A change in the rules has resulted in a reduced score for Milton Keynes Council's Benefits Service, which was rated as "good" last time it was inspected.

This week the Audit Commission has published its report on how the Council has done under the new inspection regime, after taking over responsibility from the Benefits Fraud Inspectorate.

Council Leader Sam Crooks, Liberal Democrat councillor who also has responsibility for finance, said: "The Audit Commission accepts itself that a downward score does not mean that the service has deteriorated, but that they are now looking at the service from a different perspective.

"But we agree wholeheartedly that we clearly need to follow this shift of focus ourselves, by driving forward and making sure we are not just chasing money and figures, but putting people who rely on these benefits at the very centre of things."

Liberal Democrat Councillor Jenni Ferrans, cabinet member whose responsibilities include social inclusion and equalities, added: "Last year we concentrated on the basics: getting new claims processed quickly - and we succeeded. The new style of inspection will help us move on from that, to gain a deeper understanding of the different needs of our community, to help them to get the benefits they need for themselves and their families more easily. We're also already working on speeding up the handling of changes to claims, and improving their accuracy, as many of our residents are experiencing big changes at the moment."

Meanwhile the Council's benefits service continues to work well in a number of areas:

• Improving its "end to end" time (the time between receiving a claim for housing benefit and finalising the claim)

• Reducing benefit overpayments

• Improving the percentage of customers who get their claim assessed within one day

• Working to understand what matters to customers and redesigning services around this.

The service has also received very positive feedback from customers, with recent survey results showing that 89% of customers think that the service is good, with a further 9% saying it is fair.

People can receive a swift on-the-spot service by coming in to the Civic Offices in person. If they can provide all of their information and relevant documents, their claim can be assessed there and then - usually within 20 to 40 minutes. Last year, over 30% of customers had their claim assessed within a day. For those customers who find it difficult to come into the office there is a New Claims Hotline (01908) 252770 which is staffed by benefit experts ready to help. Benefit assessors are also able to visit people in their homes if requested.