THE progress made by Sedgefield Borough Council in improving its housing and council tax benefits service has been recognised.

A critical Best Value review of the service, made by the council last July, revealed long delays in processing claims and a huge backlog.

An improvement plan was drawn up and more than 100 recommendations were made to improve the service.

Changes introduced included a dedicated customer service team to deal with inquiries, a staff training programme, simplification of claims forms, a fraud hotline and benefit take-up campaign.

A review of the service by the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate published this week rating it as "fair" but said there were "promising prospects for improvement".

The report recognised the progress made since the council's review, saying: "The levels of commitment to the benefits service has been stated clearly at all levels of the council and has been demonstrated by additional funding."

Areas for improvement were identified, including the management of claims. Inspectors also recommended staff work closer with the housing department, landlords and the rent service.

A council spokesman said many of the problems could be traced to the introduction of a verification framework in October 1999.

He said: "Like many councils who adopted the framework, which requires a much greater degree of checking and verification of personal details, the service deteriorated and a significant backlog of claims began to build up.

"As a result, the borough council reviewed the benefits service in accordance with Best Value principles and approved a service improvement plan in July 2001. Additional resources of £165,000 per year have been allocated."

Councillor John Moran, cabinet member with responsibility for supporting people, said: "Benefits is a key service and we are determined to make it much more accessible and responsive for the many thousands of households in the borough that rely on benefits.