The Council's Benefits Service has certainly improved its performance, according to figures before the Council. It is no mean achievement to have cut the backlog of applications for Housing and Council Tax benefits from 18,000 to 4,190 between March, 2000, (when the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate carried out its inspection and found cause for concern) and November, 2001.

It is also commendable that the time taken to process new claims has been cut from an average of 78 days in 2000/2001 to an average of 53 days to the end of last November (a 30 per cent improvement in less than 12 months). Even better that the proportion of renewal claims processed on time has improved from 42 per cent to 91 per cent in less than a year.

Councillor Kris Hopkins, the executive member for health and housing, is right to praise the staff for their efforts to achieve these improvements - particularly at a time when the department is struggling with constraints imposed because of a £million budget overspend, is desperately in need of a new computer system, and is still suffering very high sickness absenteeism rates.

However, there is still a long way to go if the system is looked at from the point of view of the people who depend on housing benefit to pay their rent. Even 53 days is a very long time to wait when your landlord is knocking on the door demanding his money.

The improvements need to continue, and at an even greater pace, before the service can be described as satisfactory for those who need to use it.