Benefits performance monitored

A performance management system is being used to improve delivery of housing benefit services to citizens around the UK.

Some 400 local authorities have already signed up to the National Performance Management Framework (NPMF), created with £12.9m of funding from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

Being able to compare housing benefit department performance against other councils has allowed weaknesses in services to be identified, says King’s Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council head of revenues and customer services Gareth Evans.

‘We were among the pilot councils, and it has benefited us because it transfers performance information to the NPMF system automatically,’ he said.

‘Before, we had to physically accumulate data into a spreadsheet every week, so we are now saving a lot of time.’

The system supplied by Aspiren links councils directly into the central system via the Government Secure Intranet or by secure internet protocols.

The DWP is funding the NPMF project for one year, after which local councils will be expected to find the money to keep paying for it.

Evans believes the DWP should provide more money to keep the system going.

‘NPMF has saved the DWP a lot of time on data collection and gives the department better and more up-to-date information,’ he said. ‘It should be compulsory for all councils to use it.’

Councils are under pressure to meet transformation targets, and need more time to adjust, says Butler Group analyst Sarah Burnett. ‘One year is too short for this system to establish itself properly,’ she said.

Further reading:

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