PENDLE Council's housing benefit service has been ranked among the best in the country.

The performance of the service has been praised by Central Government as being as good as that provided by the top 25 per cent of councils across the country.

It was said to have hit top performance in the quarter to June 2002 for all aspects of the housing benefit service measured by the government.

The rating covers speed of processing claims, speed of payment, and accuracy of assessment.

Pendle's improvement in performance comes less than a year after a Best Value Inspection showed much of the performance to be poorer than other councils, and it was given a one-star rating.

At the time inspectors said that improvement of the service was probable, mainly due to the strong commitment of elected members, management and staff to improve benefit administration. Coun Azhar Ali, leader of the council, said: "Pendle Council identified the need to improve this vitally important service of paying housing benefit and council tax benefit.

"Over the past year, the service has undergone a dramatic change and we are now performing as one of the top councils in the country.

"The council has invested in new technology, additional staff and staff training.

"The results for the quarter to June 30, 2002 have brought evidence of the changes we wanted.

"We must also acknowledge the work that has taken place with other agencies, landlords and our customers,

"However, we are not complacent and will work hard to stay among the best in the country."