Hard-pressed housing and Council Tax benefits staff have cut the time it takes to deal with new applications by almost a third - but needy people are still waiting almost two months for their money.

The backlog of applications for housing and Council Tax benefit has also been slashed from £18,000 to £4,190 in just 18 months, according to a report for councillors this week.

An update to the Council's health and housing scrutiny committee on the benefits services shows big improvement but there are still problems for the public.

The length of time to process applications has dropped from an average of 73 days to 53 in less than a year but people are still kept waiting for the money to which they are entitled.

The report by the Council's director of customer services, Wallace Sampson, to the committee on Thursday shows sickness levels have also been reduced, from almost 20 days to 16 and a half. But it is still well above the Council's average of ten and a half days.

The report says managers are working closely with occupational health staff and using disciplinary measures where appropriate. But unit under-funding may also be increasing stress levels.

Mr Sampson says the department is working through difficult times. A £500,000 anticipated shortfall through over- spending by the department has left it with a skin-tight budget. Mr Sampson has identified savings to bring in £300,000 and the Council is considering what action to take on the balance.

The number of staff in the call centre will be reduced in April from ten to three and there is no funding available to improve the processing of overpayments in the system.

Mr Sampson said today: "The staff have done tremendously well despite budget pressures. I think it is absolutely imperative that we continue to monitor the good progress."

Councillor Kris Hopkins, executive member for Health and Housing, which covers the benefits service, said: "They have improved considerably, thanks to the management and staff. What they have done must not be underestimated.

"What is needed is improvements to the software and systems, but this will need significant financial investment."