Our overriding objective is to provide an effective and secure Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit service that is customer focussed, modern and efficient. The Council will provide a benefits service that meets the requirements of the Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit National Performance Standards

Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council considers housing benefit and council tax benefit administration a key service which is fundamental to achieving the broader strategies of the Community Strategy.

The Service will look for opportunities to achieve the Council's Vision that "Shrewsbury and Atcham will be a prosperous area and a leading County town in the West Midlands where people value and enjoy an improving quality of life." It will help to achieve the Community Strategy aim to "improve the quality of life of all those who live, work or visit the Borough of Shrewsbury and Atcham by promoting and improving the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the area, both now and in the future".

The Service will be aware of its strategic role in the corporate plan (i.e. CP2 , Putting the customer at the heart of the Council and CP12, Improving social inclusion) and embraces the best value principles of consultation, comparison, challenge and competitiveness.

The service will be accessible to everyone in the community and regular take-up publicity will be provided, either directly or through other agencies such as Citizens Advice Bureau, to promote the benefit service. Strategies are in place to ensure claimants are enabled to make successful claims.

Benefit processing will be speedy and accurate with the objective of continually achieving top quartile performance for Best Value Performance Indicators.

We will clearly inform claimants, benefit staff, and other interested parties the expected standard of service delivery and how the service will be provided efficiently, effectively and securely.

Benefit processing will be undertaken in compliance with the Verification Framework to reduce the risk of fraud and error and to ensure the claimants receive the benefit to which they are entitled.

Effective planning will be undertaken to deploy sufficient and appropriately skilled resources in order to deliver an efficient, effective and secure service.

Overpayments will be effectively recovered and regularly monitored and will incorporate any underlying entitlement to benefit.

All identified fraudulent claims will be investigated and action will be taken in accordance with the Council's Prosecution Policy.

Regular (at least quarterly) performance monitoring against service standards will be undertaken and reported to Cabinet.

Performance management techniques will be used to promptly recognise areas of improvement and to take timely, effective and appropriate corrective action.

Senior Officers will actively encourage staff to seek ways to continuously improve the level and quality of the housing benefit and council tax benefit service provided. Staff will be regularly consulted on service provision.

October 2003