The Administration of Income Support Benefit

The Comptroller &Auditor General head of the Northern Ireland Audit Office, today reported on the Social Security Agency's administration of Income Support. Introduced in 1988, this means-tested benefit provides essential assistance to needy, aged and disabled recipients. In 1998-99 the Agency paid out almost £537 million to over 165,000 claimants. The key points emerging from the report are as follows:

• A Benefit Review completed by the Agency in July 1999 estimated that the total level of "incorrectness" in Income Support amounted to £42 million. This included £35 million in overpayments and £7 million in underpayments.
• Responsibility for the bulk of the overpayments, over £28 million, was found to lie with clients - both unintentionally and as a result of deliberate fraud.
• During the past two years the Agency has introduced a range of measures designed to strengthen the administration of Income Support. In addition, it has developed a strategic approach to tackling fraud and error in social security benefits in general.
• In 1998-99 the Agency achieved its target of accurately assessing and paying 87 per cent of Income Support applications. Nonetheless, deterring and preventing incorrectness will require sustained attention by the Agency.

A summary of the Report's other main findings is set out below:

Incorrectness in Income Support Payments (Part 2 of the Report)

The Agency's computer system provides Income Support assessors with the facility to access information contained in the payment files of other Agency branches. Receipt of other social security benefits can affect the amount of Income Support payable to a client or result in a claimant being ineligible. Available evidence would suggest that the Agency could improve its use of this service as an overpayment detection and prevention tool. NIAO recommends that assessors should routinely check for unreported benefits when initial and subsequent assessments of eligibility are carried out.

Detecting and Preventing the Overpayment of Income Support Benefits (Part 3 of the Report)

A primary cause of overpayments has been that when they apply for, or are in receipt of, Income Support, clients do not always disclose their earnings or that they are in receipt of other benefits. NIAO considers that there is potential for significant savings from an improved early detection and prevention programme. It recommends that the Agency should examine the cost-benefits of investing additional resources in its on-going review of Income Support cases.

The Agency's present sources of data and procedures for detecting undisclosed earnings and financial accounts do not provide up-to-date and comprehensive information on Income Support applicants and recipients. Such information is critical because earnings and assets are a primary factor in determining both initial eligibility and the amount of benefit recipients should receive.

Undertaking periodic data-matches between Agency details on Income Support recipients and the information held by the Inland Revenue on earned income is a potentially powerful means of detecting the overpayment of benefit due to non-disclosure of earnings and financial accounts. It should help also to reduce the number and duration of such cases. NIAO welcomes the positive steps that the Agency has taken in developing links with the Inland Revenue.

A further feature of the vulnerability of Income Support to incorrectness and abuse is that, individuals who are in receipt of Income Support erroneously, may also become eligible for a range of other benefits such as free prescriptions and free school meals for children. This reinforces the need within the Agency to ensure that decisions on Income Support are based on the thorough verification of claims.

NIAO recognises that there are inherent difficulties in administering benefits like Income Support and acknowledges the Agency's progress on the introduction of new initiatives since 1997. However, after nearly 12 years of operation, the programme still faces significant problems as millions of pounds in benefits continue to be paid erroneously to ineligible individuals. On the other hand, many claimants are also failing to receive their proper entitlement.

Quality of Service to Claimants (Part 4 of the Report)

In an Agency survey carried out in 1999 it was found that, in respect of all benefits, 92 per cent of claimants were satisfied with the quality of service provided overall. However, a report in November 1999 by the Citizens Advice Bureaux found that claimants were being inappropriately referred by social security offices to advice agencies for assistance. The report also stated that information and advice given by the Agency had been shown to be frequently incorrect. The Agency told NIAO that it will be responding to the issues raised by the Citizens' Advice Bureaux in the very near future. NIAO considers that the Agency should ensure that all survey findings are analysed and used to determine areas requiring improvement.