The benefits service provided by Hart 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. This is because benefit claims are dealt with quickly, customer care is good and users are satisfied with the service they receive. But benefit calculations are not always accurate and insufficient attention is paid to preventing and detecting benefit fraud.
Linda Krywald, Audit Commission senior manager, said:
'During the recession the Council's benefit service has helped needy people to meet their housing costs by paying council tax and housing benefits promptly, and encouraging more people to claim. The seamless transfer of the service to a contractor has given the Council access to wider skills and experience and this will help it to continue to improve.'
Strengths include:
Weaknesses include:
To help the service improve, inspectors made a number of recommendations. These include:
Since May 2008 Hart District Council has employed a contractor to run its Benefits Service, In 2008/09 it paid out around £12 million to over 2000 residents claiming benefit payments for council tax and housing.
For further information, or for an embargoed copy of the full report, please contact:
Callum Collins, Senior Regional Communications Manager (Southern)
Tel: 0844 798 8844.
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