Council pays out benefits of £35m a year - COMMENT ON THIS STORY
SCARBOROUGH Council is dishing out more than £35 million a year in rent and council tax benefits.
And it is having to deal with around 150 new claims and 210 changes in circumstances each week.
The statistics are revealed in a report drawn up by Paul Cresswell, the council's head of financial services.
The aim of the report is to show whether the benefits services provide value for money in contributing to the overall aim to improve the council.
The benefits service pays out more than 25.6 million in rent allowance and 9.5 million in council tax benefit each year to around 11,500 people in the borough.
The cost for each claim is 58.80 compared with a national average of 67.80.
The latest survey also showed there had been an improvement in the speed of processing new claims, down from 27.74 days three years ago to 24.58 days.
Estimates show it could drop to under 20 days.
The time taken processing changes in circumstances has also improved from 19.61 days to 15.79 days and the latest results show this is dropping to under 12 days.
Mr Cresswell indicates how the council is working with other organisations and agencies to further improve the service and counteract fraud.
A joint take-up with the Citizens Advice Bureau resulted in 500,000 going in annual awards on all types of benefits, helping 123 people.
From next month the benefits service will face a new inspection and assessment regime when the Audit Commission takes over the work of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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