Background
23 SDC is situated on the Kent coast, approximately 75 miles south east of London. It covers an area of 140 square miles. Its population of approximately 100,000 people is mostly centred on the towns of Folkestone and Hythe. There are coastal towns at Dymchurch, St Mary’s Bay, Littlestone, Greatstone and Lydd-on-Sea. Various forecasts estimate that the SDC population will grow by about 5,000 people in the next ten years. Although most of this increase is expected to be made up of people of working age, SDC already has a large proportion of retired people and numbers in this age group are also expected to grow.
24 Historically, Folkestone has been one of the main gateways to Europe; most recently through motorway, port and rail tunnel links. Tourism plays a major part in the local economy, as do public administration, banking and, to a lesser extent, manufacturing, farming and fishing.
The Council
25 SDC has 56 elected councillors representing 25 wards. The council has 29 Conservative Members and there are also 11 Labour and 16 Liberal Democrat councillors. In May 1999, the council adopted a cabinet structure. An Executive Committee, chaired by the council Leader, is supported by 3 Scrutiny Committees.
26 The council has recently reorganised into 2 Strategic Directorates. There are 12 business units which report through to either the Chief Executive or one of the 2 Strategic Directors.
27 The council’s performance plan for 2000-2001 includes the Mission Statement Working together to improve the quality of life in Shepway. This is supported by the following statement:
The council will:
- put people first through listening and caring
- plan for the individual needs and priorities of Shepway communities
- protect and improve our environment
- promote and develop our local community
- provide value for money quality services.
28 The performance plan is underpinned by the following 10 key objectives:
- to provide quality services which respond to the needs and aspirations of the local communities and compete with the best available in the public and private sectors
- to diversify the local economy to provide more better paid jobs in employment sectors that are likely to grow, and to re-orientate local tourism towards expanding and more profitable markets
- to help reduce the fear of crime, cut crime and vandalism and help raise awareness of crime protection
- to promote public health and safety
- to promote and apply the principles of sustainable development through development plans, local transport and all other activities of the council
- to protect the environment and the quality of natural and built heritage and promote positive environmental regeneration schemes in support of tourism and economic development objectives
- to achieve social and economic regeneration, tackling problems of exclusion particularly in Central and East Folkestone and Romney Marsh
- to promote a range of local housing opportunities and the best use of the housing stock
- to promote the development of a comprehensive range of sports and leisure opportunities for residents and visitors to the district
- to take a lead role in developing a partnership with other public, private and voluntary sector agencies to gain a comprehensive understanding of local needs and priorities, involve local people in service planning and co-ordinate services to ensure that local needs are met as effectively as possible.
29 The council has achieved Investors in People accreditation and, at the time of the inspection, IiP performance was being independently re-assessed. SDC has told us that since the on-site phase of our inspection, it has been successful in renewing its IiP accreditation.
The Benefits Service in Shepway District Council
30 SDC’s main benefit administration offices are situated at the Civic Centre in Folkestone. This office also deals with fraud investigation and overpayment recovery. All benefit services are administered by RBS, which is part of the Administration and Finance Directorate. The exception is that the reception and cashier facilities at Hythe, Lydd-on-Sea and New Romney are part of the Management and Development Directorate.
31 RBS was exposed to Voluntary Competitive Tending in 1998. Despite 2 invitations to tender, no external tenderers submitted a bid, and the contract was awarded to an in-house team.
32 SDC employs 25.5 staff to administer benefits. Figure 1 shows that, in 2000/01, SDC paid £26.04 million in benefits to 14,457 claimants. This represented approximately 48% of the council’s total gross expenditure of £54.25 million. In addition there are 3 staff (one team leader and 2 investigators) who undertake counter fraud activities. The current organisation was established following a staffing review undertaken by the Head of RBS in August 2000. A further staffing review, which commenced in January 2002, is focusing on customer service needs and any potential operational efficiencies brought about by the implementation of the new benefits IT system.
Benefit type |
1998/99 |
1999/2000 |
2000/01 |
Rent Allowance |
15,167 |
14,412 |
14,199 |
Rent Rebate |
5,811 |
5,625 |
5,857 |
CTB |
3,825 |
5,691 |
5,988 |
Total |
24,803 |
25,728 |
26,044 |
Source: SDC
33 Figure 2 shows SDC’s performance against its Weekly Benefit Savings (WBS) threshold for the last 3 complete years and the part year to February 2002, the time of the on site phase of this inspection. During this period, SDC has consistently claimed WBS in excess of the threshold.
1998/99 |
1999/2000 |
2000/01 |
2001 to February 2002 |
|
WBS threshold |
419,742 |
397,966 |
380,438 |
269,645 |
WBS claimed |
603,297 |
573,117 |
502,981 |
366,174 |
Percentage |
144 |
144 |
132 |
135 |
Source: SDC
34 In 1999 SDC introduced a new IT system designed to help control and manage its flow of benefits work. In October 2001 a new benefit processing system was installed.
35 SDC has been successful in obtaining IiP accreditation and, again, this required significant input from RBS. We also note that RBS has implemented VF.
36 The volume and pace of change in recent years, compounded by a loss of some experienced staff and difficulties in finding replacements, has contributed to the service being hard pressed to deliver its objectives.
The Council’s Best Value Review
37 Tasks of SDC’s Benefits service are:
- the administration of rent allowances, rent rebates and Council Tax benefit
- recovery of overpaid benefit
- benefit fraud investigation.
38 The aims of the service are set out in the BVR report, the Service Specification and the Revenues and Benefits Performance business plan for 2001/2005.
39 SDC completed its BVR of the Housing Benefit service in March 2001. Members approved the outcomes of the BVR in July 2001.