NORTH Wiltshire District Council is successfully tackling its massive backlog of housing benefit claims.

The district council is overcoming problems caused by staff shortages and computer systems, in an effort to speed up claims for council tax rebate and housing benefit.

The mountain of outstanding mail has been cut from 7,154 last year to 4,853 this year, with plans afoot for further improvements.

A report in April blamed the backlog on the upgrade of the Document Management System and a national shortage of benefit processing staff.

But Comino, the supplier of DMS, has now resolved most of the system problems and is working closely with officers at the district council to develop and improve the system.

The appointment of a new countywide training officer will also benefit Wiltshire's local authorities, with new or inexperienced staff being given the opportunity to gain the required skills and knowledge.

North Wiltshire is also working with a consultant to produce a comprehensive operations manual to assist in the training and development process.

Regular liaison meetings with Westlea Housing Association and the Citizens Advice Bureau have been arranged to make sure the agencies work together for the benefit of the customer.

Three new members of staff have been appointed at the district council and the waiting time for housing benefit applications to be processed has been cut from three months in April, to 25 days currently. The national target is 35 days.

The target for sorting out change of circumstances applications has not yet reached the national target of 20 days lagging behind at 29.6 days.

A new processing software system, due to be up and running next summer, should further streamline the service.

If members of the public would like an update on the status of their benefit claim, they can contact the council on (01249) 706246 or visit the council offices at Monkton Park in Chippenham.