"tell it

how it is"

If we are to see standards raised we must maintain an objective approach during inspections. Our inspection teams must be prepared to face some degree of unpopularity and even criticism for telling it how it is. Telling it how it is, however, also means giving credit for existing good practices and incentives. We hope this even-handed approach, coupled with an emphasis on constructive suggestions for ways to improve, will be welcomed by all practitioners we come into contact with on a day-to-day basis. First indications are promising.

Our inspection at Blackpool is an important model for future inspections. We did not pull any punches in our analysis of the Authority’s existing arrangements.. They were documented clearly in our findings and at the same time worked through with Blackpool to develop solutions. Both the staff and management are to be praised for the hard work and professionalism that was evident in the course of our inspection.

"We need to rethink the finders keepers scoring of fraud savings; I believe that our trial of finders sharers offers the chance to test out an approach based on partnership" (Douglas Kerr, Benefits Agency Area Director, East of Scotland)

To their credit, Blackpool accepted our report and welcomed our findings as an important contribution to the development of their administrative arrangements. This is testimony to a widespread acceptance of the BFI report and agreement as to ways forward recommended by the BFI. It also demonstrates that we can have a real impact in developing "partnership" arrangements. The bodies inspected in Blackpool adopted a farsighted and constructive approach that has provided a valuable benchmark for future inspections.

Whilst we had only completed one full inspection at the end of last year, our wider experience through the trial inspections has begun to point towards some emerging themes. These are set out below, not with the intention of suggesting that they apply across the board, but to give some early pointers on issues that administrators may wish to consider. We will continue to watch these areas over the course of the coming year to establish any broader patterns.

"cracking the problems

with workable solutions"

Cross-Agency working

The BFI trial inspection in Edinburgh provided an impetus to the Benefits Agency and local authority working together to improve liaison arrangements, share information and promote good joint working practice. A formal project was set up to manage a series of improvements across a range of working practices – staff exchanges, joint exercises, improved communications, using a remote access terminal (RAT) and effective meeting arrangements – aimed at achieving better working across organisations.

We are looking forward to seeing this type of work replicated in other locations as the Benefits Agency and Local Authorities continue to share good practices and realise the potential benefits of working together. Indeed, similar closer working pilots are already being pursued following our trial inspection in the West of Scotland. We will use the types of working practice being developed as a benchmark for future inspections and encourage this type of activity.

"Blackpool Borough Council
cannot do it alone. We must
work with the Benefits Agency
and Employment Service if we
are to achieve real
improvements" (Graham
Essex-Crosby, Chief Executive,
Blackpool Borough Council)

Gateways to Benefit

The inspection at Blackpool Borough Council highlighted a number of good practices including well-developed customer services, staff experience and commitment, and excellent procedures for administration of exceptional hardship payments. The report recommended that the council should build on these by making improvements to the claim form, improving the verification process and improving liaison with the Benefits Agency in order to secure the gateways to other benefits. The Employment Service also plays a vital role in relation to claims for Jobseeker’s Allowance in verifying circumstances which in turn secures the gateway to benefits.

The inspection confirmed the need for greater partnership. It was agreed that a Task Force should be formed with representatives from the council, Benefits Agency and Employment Services to identify areas for joint working and take forward recommendations in the report.

The council is currently working on improvements to the claim form with the focus on proof of identity, layout and guidance. In addition, they are in the process of appraising the implementation of the DSS Verification Framework. The Council has also improved liaison with the Benefits Agency through the Task Force and will undoubtedly benefit from the work of the BA/LA Closer Liaison Committee at a national level.

Significantly, the response by Blackpool Borough Council to the Secretary of State following the publication of the report was drawn up jointly by the Benefits Agency, Employment Services and Blackpool Borough Council. This clearly demonstrates that all partners are committed to implementing the action plan through a mechanism of joint working to protect benefit gateways.

The inspection at Blackpool
Borough Council highlighted
a number of good practices
including well-developed
customer services, staff
experience and commitment

Partnership

Torfaen County Borough Council is a unitary authority created in April 1996. In mid 1997 we were invited by Torfaen to perform a trial inspection. This trial served two main purposes. For Torfaen we could provide advice on the way Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit were delivered and identify options for improving that delivery. For us it was our last opportunity to refine our approach before we went "live".

The results were mutually beneficial. The practical recommendations we made were accepted by Torfaen. These are intended to make benefit delivery more secure and efficient. We confirmed the robustness of our inspection approach and our ability to build partnerships.

Landlords

One of the recommendations to emerge from the Blackpool Borough Council inspection was that the council should materially strengthen controls to prevent landlords submitting fraudulent claims to benefit. This is particularly important as officers in Blackpool estimate that 70% of rent allowance is paid direct to landlords.

In response, the council has begun compiling a register of landlords which can be used to combat this type of fraud more effectively. They are also involved in a joint exercise with the Benefits Agency to review local landlords, particularly those who have been known to cause problems in the past.

"The BFI’s remit to work across
different organisations was
instrumental in bringing the
Social Security administrators
together to achieve
improvements" (Graham Essex-
Crosby, Chief Executive,
Blackpool Borough Council)

Measurement and resource allocation

The Government’s recent Green Paper on Fraud identified a number of weaknesses in the way fraud is measured and how administrators are resourced to counter it. Our work to date in both local authorities and the Benefits Agency has confirmed this. The paper goes on to set out a new approach for the future.

The BFI were pleased to be invited to contribute to this work and help find new ways of overcoming this problem. To help us we involved experts from commercial organisations, academic institutions and other governments that had an interest. The key recommendation resulting from our work was to develop and implement a new measurement framework, building on some aspects of the current measurement system as well as introducing new ideas and technologies. The framework provided three key success measures:

• a measure of outcome, which is the level of programme loss broken down by cause – for example, fraud or customer error;
• a measure of the capability of the DSS and LAs to minimise programme loss; and
• a measure of activity to establish, resource and target the range of activities and initiatives designed to reduce programme loss.

We hope to make our working paper available shortly. This contributed to the recent review of fraud which resulted in the recent Green Paper – "BEATING FRAUD IS EVERYONE’S BUSINESS: Securing the future"