Public performance reports

Benefits and funding administration

The Council Plan Connect, outlines our outcomes for 2022-27. Connect Outcomes should not be seen in isolation, they interact with each other and as we achieve success in one, we move closer to success in others. In delivering our vision to ‘improve the lives and prospects of everyone in South Lanarkshire’ our outcomes show how our work links with our partners including our Community Planning Partners.

For daily updates, stories and what’s going on in your area, visit our information and news website South Lanarkshire View.

Each year we produce an Annual Performance Spotlights which summarise how we have performed in achieving our Connect Outcomes. To complement these we have created a suite of individual Public Performance Reports which focus on key areas of council business. This report outlines the performance of our Benefits And Funding Administration Service.

The council is responsible for the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction:

Housing Benefit is administered on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions and provides assistance with rented housing costs to those on low incomes.
Council Tax Reduction (previously known as Council Tax Benefit) reduces the amount of Council Tax payable for those on low incomes.

Our performance in processing Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction is reviewed regularly by the Department of Work and Pensions, the Scottish Government and Audit Scotland.

Follow the link to our website for information on other Benefits available.

Benefits average processing time

Average processing time for new claims – Target 14 days
What this means	This indicator calculates how long we take, on average, to process a claim for Housing Benefit. We are measured on the average number of days taken to process a new claim for Housing Benefit.
Why this matters	It is important that the council process new claims for Housing Benefit timeously to ensure that customers are able to meet their rental obligations and sustain tenancies.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving?
	SLC	12 days	13 days	12 days	Yes
	Scotland	17 days	18 days	Not available	Yes
How we have performed in improving this public service	The council achieved its target in 2022-23 of processing new claims, on average 2 days quicker than the target of 14 days.

Average processing time for changes of circumstances – Target 4 days
What this means	This indicator tells us how long we take, on average, to process a change in circumstances. We are measured on the average number of days to process a change of circumstances reported by an existing claimant.
Why this matters	It is important that the council processes changes which impact on customers’ Housing Benefit payments timeously to ensure that payments are accurate.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving
	SLC	2 days	2 days	2 days	No change
	Scotland	4 days	5 days	Not available	No change
How we have performed in improving this public service	The council achieved its target for this indicator in 2022-23, on average 2 days quicker than the target of 4 days.

Cost of benefit administration

Gross administration cost per case – Target £35.00
What this means	This indicator measures the cost of processing a claim for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction per case and measures the gross cost of providing the service across a weighted caseload. Different types of claims have a different weight depending on the relative complexity of processing the case.
Why this matters	Although it is important to achieve improvements in benefit processing timescales, we have to demonstrate that we are working efficiently and minimising administrative costs.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving
	SLC	£31.58	£34.34	£31.50	Yes
	Scotland	£40.97	Not available	Not available	Yes
How we have performed in improving this public service	The cost of processing benefits in 2022-23 decreased by 8% when compared to 2021-22, primarily due to reduced employee costs.

Benefits Accuracy

Our accuracy in processing claims for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction was 97.1% in 2022-23, exceeding the target of 93.5%.

The Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) was created to provide a safety net for people on low incomes. It is a national scheme that helps Scottish households in need. Awards from the Fund are discretionary and are made by individual local authorities.

The Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) Scheme is a government scheme administered by local authorities to provide people in financial hardship with assistance to meet housing costs.

The percentage of Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) Budget Spend
What this means	The percentage of the budget set out for Scottish Welfare Fund that is spent at the year end.
Why this matters	This measure provides useful and timely insight on policy critical issues such as vulnerability, poverty and inequality and which will be increasingly important considering the cost of living crisis.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving
	SLC	110.1%	181.6%	154.6%	No
	Scotland	83.2%	115.2%	Not available	No
How we have performed in improving this public service	As in 2021-22 the percentage of SWF expenditure in 2022-23 reflects additional discretionary funding provided by the council to supplement the funding received from the Scottish Government. This was required due to high customer demand for financial support from the SWF. Actions: The administration of the SWF will continue to be monitored closely and reported on a regular basis to ensure effective financial management of the fund.

The percentage of Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) Funding Spend
What this means	The percentage of DHP funding for the year that is spent at the year end.
Why this matters	This measure provides useful and timely insight on policy critical issues such as vulnerability, poverty and inequality and which will be increasingly important considering the cost of living crisis.
Our performance and how we compare	Comparator	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	Are we improving
	SLC	108.2%	101.9%	99.7%	No
	Scotland	97.2%	95.9%	Not available	No
How we have performed in improving this public service	Despite the late allocation of funding from Scottish Government, full DHP expenditure against budget was almost achieved in 2022-23. South Lanarkshire’s performance also continues to be better than the Scottish average. Actions: The administration of DHP funding will continue to be monitored closely and reported on a regular basis to ensure effective financial management of the fund.

Follow the links to our website for further information about services and how to access them:

Information on national performance for speed of processing is available on the UK Government web page, Housing Benefit: statistics on speed of processing

Everyone is aware of the changes to benefits as a result of Government changes to the Welfare reform system. The council is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions in the rollout of the changes and has a dedicated “Benefits are changing tenant liaison team” to help tenants cope with the changes.

Resource Plans are prepared each year by all council Resources to outline the key developments they intend to take forward in the year. Performance and actions relating to Benefits and funding administration can be found in the Finance and Corporate Resource Plan.

Twice a year, performance reports are presented to council committees on progress against the Resource Plans. In addition, reports detailing progress against the Council Plan Connect Outcomes are prepared. See Quarter 2 and Quarter 4 performance reports for further information.

More information on our outcomes can be found in the Council Plan Connect and also the Annual Performance Spotlights.

Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) allows councils to work together, to use performance information in a way which will help understand variations, share knowledge, expertise and good practice, with a view to making improvements. For more information and links relating to this framework go to the 'Benchmarking' paragraph on the Improvement and how we compare page on our website.

The information contained within this report reflects the position based on the data available at the time of publication (March 2024).