Mistakes and delays in housing benefit payments cost Haringey Council more than £1.4 million in a single year.
The council made £1.45 million in housing benefit overpayments during 2017-18 but was unable to claim the money back from the Government because there were too many mistakes in the forms it had submitted.
Another £577,000 of overpayments have been made in the current financial year – but the council is hoping to recover all of the money.
External auditor BDO says the council should be able to get the £577,000 back “subject to continued good performance for the remainder of the year”.
The problems arose due to a staff shortage in the council’s benefits team.
This meant that change of circumstances forms – used by claimants to tell the council of changes that could affect the amount of benefits they receive – were not being dealt with quickly enough.
Originally reported in The Enfield Independent
Tags (All lower case. Use " " for multiple word tags):
Surely £1.4 M would be enough to pay for a few office staff ?
© 2024 Created by Hugh. Powered by
© Copyright Harringay Online Created by Hugh