Current status: Answered by Margaret Curran on 28 May 2002
To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking in order to assist local authorities in improving the processing of housing benefit claims.
Housing benefit administration is a matter for the UK Government. Local authorities in Scotland have a statutory duty to administer housing benefit and council tax benefit under social security legislation and are funded by the UK Government for doing this.All authorities are expected to secure Best Value by the pursuit of continuous improvement across the full range of their activities. The Local Government in Scotland Bill, introduced on 16 May, will give statutory backing to the duty of Best Value and the audit regime which supports it.