Minister slams Lambeth council for poor benefits performance
A Government Minister has issued stinging criticism of Lambeth Council’s Benefits Service in a House of Commons statement. Work and Pensions Minister Chris Pond made the statement following an investigation into benefits services in the borough. The service has gone from bad to worse under the current Liberal Democrat and Conservative controlled council and the crisis has deepened as the department suffered from a succession of different bosses. Latest performance indicators show that it now takes Lambeth 117 days to process new claims for housing and council tax benefit. In his statement Chris Pond said: “The council has not reached standard in any of the seven performance standards…Performance in administering benefits remains poor, does not meet best value performance indicators and is hampered by the continuing backlog of work.” He went on to say, “the council's corporate commitment to provide an effective benefits service is not followed through into operational planning, staff objectives or local targets. The organisational structure does not support the effective delivery of benefits or effective communication.” Cllr Jackie Meldrum, Deputy Leader of Lambeth Labour Group commented: “Chris Pond hasn’t pulled any punches in his statement to the Commons and rightly so. Through their incompetence and mismanagement the Liberals have plunged a once improving benefits service into a state of crisis. ” “Pensioners and families in need of help
to pay rent or their council tax are amongst the most vulnerable people
in this borough. They can’t afford to wait 117 days for this assistance.
A Labour controlled council would make improving this service a priority,
but under the Liberals the service is just getting worse.”
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