Tackling The Complexity Of The Benefits System
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Tackling The Complexity Of The Benefits System
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Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
language : en
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Release Date : 2006-04-27
Tackling The Complexity Of The Benefits System written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and has been published by The Stationery Office this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2006-04-27 with Political Science categories.
The complexity of the benefit system is a key factor affecting the performance of the Department for Work and Pensions. Although this complexity is often necessary in order to administer the system cost-effectively and protect public funds against abuse, it can also result in high levels of error by staff, confusion for customers and help create a climate where fraud can more easily take place. The Committee's report finds that although the DWP has taken steps to address this problem (for example, in the design of Pension Credit, simplifying claim processes for several benefits and better sharing of information with local authorities), these are rather piecemeal developments and it is difficult to tell whether the system as a whole has become more or less complex as there is currently no objective way of measuring it. Some of the steps taken to simplify processes for customers are a way of managing complexity, rather than eliminating it. Managing complexity requires well-trained staff supported by accessible guidance and assistance and efficient information technology systems, and the DWP should also improve its written communications with customers.
Dealing With The Complexity Of The Benefits System
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Author : Great Britain: National Audit Office
language : en
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Release Date : 2005-11-18
Dealing With The Complexity Of The Benefits System written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and has been published by The Stationery Office this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2005-11-18 with Business & Economics categories.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and its agencies, are responsible for administering around 40 social security benefits to the value of around £100 billion a year. Many of these benefits are linked together; hence some customers are in receipt of more than one benefit. The need for equity and fairness in interpreting legislation, is a cause of complexity. Incentives (e.g. to work) and rewards (e.g. for an individual's savings) have been built into procedures. Problems are caused by the interface between DWP benefits and tax credits (which are administered by HM Revenue and Customs); and by the constant flow of major and minor legislative and administrative changes. Simplified procedures would enable both staff and customers to understand the system better, and to avoid duplication of effort. There would also be less scope for benefits fraud (estimated at £2.6 billion in 2004-05). This NAO report also highlights the need for improved communication with customers and better use of new technology.
Benefits Simplification
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Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Work and Pensions Committee
language : en
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Release Date : 2007-07-26
Benefits Simplification written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Work and Pensions Committee and has been published by The Stationery Office this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2007-07-26 with Political Science categories.
No welfare system that attempts to meet the needs of millions of vulnerable people can be simple but this report concludes the UK benefit system has an unacceptable level of dysfunctional complexity. This causes considerable operational difficulties and can contribute to financial hardship for claimants. Although some good work is being done on incremental and operational improvement, this cannot address the far-reaching systematic complexity. The Committee is disappointed that the Government has not set out a clear vision for a simplified system and asks that it should consider the case for radical reform. They note the role played by the Pensions Commission in assessing the options for UK pensions and propose the establishment of a Welfare Commission that can undertake a full examination of the possibility for fundamental change.
Reducing Losses In The Benefits System Caused By Customers Mistakes
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Author : Great Britain: National Audit Office
language : en
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Release Date : 2011-01-21
Reducing Losses In The Benefits System Caused By Customers Mistakes written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and has been published by The Stationery Office this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2011-01-21 with Social Science categories.
The Department for Work and Pensions does not yet have enough evidence to demonstrate that its activities to reduce the cost of mistakes by customers have been value for money. Mistakes made by claimants in the information they provide to the Department, termed customer error, are difficult to detect, correct and prevent. The scale of overpayments and underpayments demonstrate a clear imperative for improvement. Mistakes made by customers are difficult for the Department to tackle because they often arise from a change in customers' circumstances, which customers may not realise they have to tell the Department about. Overpayments due to customer error, which are estimated at £1.1 billion in 2009-10, represent a substantial loss to the taxpayer. And underpayments, which were approximately £800 million in 2009-10, can cause hardship for the families affected. The establishment by the Department of the Fraud and Error Council shows a commitment to tackling fraud and error, but there is little evidence that sufficient attention has been paid to reducing losses due to customer mistakes. The Department launched a five year strategy for tackling error in January 2007 but there has been no discernible decrease between 2006-07 and 2009-10 in underpayments and overpayments due to customer error as a percentage of total benefits expenditure. The Department and its agencies do not yet have enough information to target initiatives effectively. Nor is there enough consistently measured data on the costs and benefits of interventions.
Minimising The Cost Of Administrative Errors In The Benefits System
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Author : Great Britain: National Audit Office
language : en
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Release Date : 2010-11-25
Minimising The Cost Of Administrative Errors In The Benefits System written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and has been published by The Stationery Office this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2010-11-25 with Social Science categories.
In 2009-10 the Department for Work and Pensions overpaid its customers by an estimated £1.1 billion and made underpayments of £500 million. However, the scale of the challenge faced by the Department should not be underestimated. The benefits system is large, encompassing over 27 different benefits and a total caseload of around 20 million people. In addition, the Department has had to respond to the recent recession in which Jobseekers Allowance caseload almost doubled between 2008 and 2009. The recent announcement of the introduction of Universal Credit is an opportunity to simplify many of the regulations, but such changes will take a long time to implement. In the meantime, the onus remains on the Department to keep the costs of mistakes to a minimum. The Department has demonstrated a clear commitment to reducing administrative error, but there is scope for improvement in the quality of information used to assess where the Department should focus its efforts. Although DWP has initiated an exercise to understand fully the causes of error, this will not be complete until the spring of 2011. There is also scope for further work in collecting and analysing the full costs and benefits of the Department's interventions in order to assess cost effectiveness. The Government announced a new strategy in October 2010 with a greater emphasis on preventing errors from arising and this is now an opportunity for lessons to be learned.
Progress In Tackling Benefit Fraud
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Author : Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts
language : en
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Release Date : 2008
Progress In Tackling Benefit Fraud written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and has been published by The Stationery Office this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2008 with Social Science categories.
Benefit fraud is a crime and undermines public confidence in the benefits system. In 2006-07, the Department for Work and Pensions estimated that it spent some £154 million on tackling fraud, identifying £106 million of overpaid benefit, against total benefit expenditure of £120 billion. The Department estimates that fraud fell from £2 billion in 2001-02 to £800 million in 2006-07, which is 0.6% of benefit expenditure. But the Department must do more to reverse the rise in official and customer error. Estimated error rose from £1 billion in 2001-02 to £1.9 billion in 2006-07. Benefit complexity is believed to be a major cause of error. Increasing the volume of pre-payment checks and encouraging customers to receive benefit payments directly into their bank accounts has prevented some fraud. The Department now works closely with the police, the Serious Organised Crime Agency and local authorities to prevent, identify and act against fraud. But it could make more effective use of its powers and resources. While the Department successfully prosecutes 90 per cent of the cases it takes to court, the Prosecution Division has lost 17 per cent of its staff since 2003. Debt recovery is an essential part of tackling fraud, yet in 2006-07 the Department only recovered £22 million of fraud debt out of a known fraud debt stock of £339 million. The Department has been slow to improve its management information systems, hampering its ability to measure the cost-effectiveness of counter-fraud activities. It has taken from 2003 until February 2008 to roll out a new national management information system, known as FRAIMS, at a cost of £65 million.
Public Sector Auditing
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Author : Sir John Bourn
language : en
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Release Date : 2008-07-31
Public Sector Auditing written by Sir John Bourn and has been published by John Wiley & Sons this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2008-07-31 with Business & Economics categories.
Drawing on 20 years of experience as Comptroller and Auditor General, and head of the United Kingdom National Audit Office, Public Sector Auditing: Is it Value for Money? is Sir John Bourn’s own account of the role and influence value for money auditing has in holding governments to account and in helping public bodies improve the ways in which they deliver services. Key features include: In-depth case studies from UK, US, Canada, China, India and Australia; Detailed analysis of complex areas of public expenditure such as health, education, privatisation, regulation, defence and IT; Examples of how auditing can promote positive outcomes rather than negative post mortems. This book is relevant for people working in both the public and private sectors, and should be essential reading for the staff of public sector audit institutions around the world, as well as commercial accountancy firms and students of accountancy, politics, economics and public management.
Progress On Tackling Pensioner Poverty
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Author : Great Britain: National Audit Office
language : en
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Release Date : 2006-07-21
Progress On Tackling Pensioner Poverty written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and has been published by The Stationery Office this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2006-07-21 with Political Science categories.
The 2002 report Tackling pensioner poverty: encouraging take-up of entitlements (ISBN 0102919577) examined efforts by the Department for Work and Pensions to increase the take-up of benefits by pensioners. It was followed by a report from the Committee of Public Accounts (ISBN 0215009347) that made a number of recommendations. This report looks at the changes the Department have made against those recommendations and the challenges that remain. The overall conclusion is that the Pension Service has made substantial progress in helping pensioners secure their entitlements, using new and thought through approaches. However there is more to be done. This report is accompanied by a technical report that describes the methodology and findings in greater detail.
Progress In Tackling Benefit Fraud
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Author : Great Britain: National Audit Office
language : en
Publisher: The Stationery Office
Release Date : 2008-01-23
Progress In Tackling Benefit Fraud written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and has been published by The Stationery Office this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2008-01-23 with Social Science categories.
This NAO report is a follow up to one issued in the 2002-03 session (HC 393, ISBN 9780102920635), Tackling Benefit Fraud. The report sets out some key facts, including: that the total benefit expenditure is £120 billion; the total number of recipients is 18 million; the total estimated fraud is £0.8 billion. In the 2006-07 period, £154 million was spent on six strategies to reduce fraud, with a Departmental estimate of £106 million of benefit overpayments identified as a result of fraud investigation and compliance activity. Also in the 2006-07 period, the Department recovered £22 million of the total £339 million outstanding fraud debt. Although the NAO has identified that fraud has fallen from an estimated £2 billion in 2001-02 to an estimated £0.8 billion in 2006-07, official error has risen in the same period from £1 billion to £1.9 billion. Tackling fraud is a key priority for the Department for Work and Pensions, and the report examines the main anti-fraud initiatives, recognising that: tackling benefit is inherently difficult; that the UK has levels of social security fraud and error which are similar to those of comparable countries; that the Department has made good progress in tackling fraud, but will find it increasingly difficult to secure further year on year reductions. The NAO has also set out a number of recommendations, including: that the Department's management information on fraud could be improved, with greater communication between the various departmental directorates responsible for counter-fraud work; that a review of the cost effectiveness of the Customer Compliance approach (which deals with lower risk cases of fraud) should be done; that a record of the outcomes of prosecution activities should be taken by case type to provide better Departmental information; that the Department must review recovery of overpayments in fraud cases and consider setting appropriate targets for recovery from customers who have committed fraud.
Understanding Social Security
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Author : Jane Millar
language : en
Publisher: Policy Press
Release Date : 2018-04-30
Understanding Social Security written by Jane Millar and has been published by Policy Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2018-04-30 with Political Science categories.
The political and economic landscape of UK social security provision has changed significantly since the 2008 financial crisis. This fully revised, restructured and updated 3rd edition of a go-to text book covers all the key policy changes and their implications since the elections of 2010 and 2015. With contributions from leading academics in the field this book critically examines the design, entitlement, delivery and impact of current welfare provision. The first half of the book examines social security across the lifecycle from Child Benefit to retirement pensions. The second half focuses on key issues in policy and practice including new topics such as the realities of life on benefits in an era of austerity, and the pros and cons of Universal Basic Income. • Framework supports teachers and students, encouraging analytical thinking of issues and providing pointers to related sources • Authoritative and evidence-based arguments • Clear section and chapter summaries, overviews, questions for discussion, website resources and a bibliography • Includes tables, charts and text boxes for clarity, interest and appeal This book is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students of Social Policy taking modules on Social Security Policy, Poverty and Inequality, Income Support and Welfare Reform, as well as Social Work students and those on other Social Science degree programmes.