Northerners plan to share benefit services

The innovative idea was explored this week by Darlington, Teesdale and Richmondshire at a challenge day with stakeholders including the Department for Work and Pensions. Other guests included voluntary organisations that help claimants, valuation officers and bailiffs.

The plan is to streamline benefits and local taxation. One idea mooted is to allocate responsibility to each of the three local authorities for either housing benefit, business rates or council tax.

Darlington currently handles about 10,000 housing benefit claims at any one time, Richmondshire 3000 and Teesdale 2000.

Richmondshire head of local taxation Stephen Laidman said the plans would mesh well with the council's plans for one-stop shops dealing with all benefits and local taxes. He acknowledged staff concerns that were raised at an open day last month. "People are concerned about who will do what, where and when. We are going to explore all these issues over the next three or four months," he said.

Local Government Association programme manager Gwyneth Taylor said joint working was attracting growing interest and several groups were exploring it. "No project with one authority running benefit for another is running yet, but there is nothing to prevent it happening," she said.