Agenda item

The Committee received a report which set out the introduction of a risk based verification policy to assist with the processing of Housing Benefit and Council Tax reduction claims, as part of the FOBO programme. It was noted that risk based verification related to the level of checks that were undertaken on a claim before benefit was awarded. Its primary purpose was to target resources to where fraud and error were more likely to occur. The report was introduced by Shergill Rupinder, FOBO Project Manager and Carla Segel, Head of Service Delivery for Corporate and Customer Services. The following was noted in discussion of the report.

a.    In response to a question around what was the impact on the local authority for errors in housing benefit payment, officers confirmed that there was a penalty levied by the DWP.

b.    In response to a question around the extent of that penalty, BDO advised that if the number of overpayments remained within 0.48% of the total amount of housing benefit paid out within that year there was no penalty and the DWP paid back 100% of the benefit payments to the Council. The penalty was then determined on a sliding scale from 0.48% upwards. Over 5.2% of the total value of overpayments, the Council would lose 100% of the value of the overpayments. The Committee noted that last year there was a significant penalty imposed, but this year was looking a lot better. BDO suggested, that at present, the Council was on track to remain under the 0.48% threshold.

c.    The Committee enquired whether the introduction of a risk based policy would necessitate requesting additional information from benefit claimants. In response, officers advised that around 40% of current claimants would be classified as low risk under the proposed model and that they would have to provide less information than they did currently. At present all claimants were effectively classified as high risk and it was explained that the new process would make dealing with low risk claims quicker and easier.

d.    In response to concerns about equalities safeguards and the potential for specific groups to be targeted, officers advised that no equalities concerns had arisen as part of the process of developing the EQIA and statutory equalities comments in the report. 

e.    In response to a question around underpayments, officers advised that there were no changes to the current process and that any underpayment would be rectified and paid to the claimant in full.

f.     In response to a question, officers advised that the threshold for what constituted a low, medium and high risk claimant was set by the DWP.

g.    Officers confirmed that the proposed go-live date was in October, following Cabinet sign-off.

RESOLVED

That the Corporate Committee approved Haringey’s Risk Based Verification Policy (as set out at Appendix B of the report) as the means by which the Council would process claims for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction having regard to the Equalities Screening Tool (set out in Appendix C of the report).