A COUNCIL watchdog has ordered benefits bosses to improve after it was revealed it takes 74 days, on average, to process new claims.

Blackburn with Darwen Council's personal overview and scrutiny committee, which monitors the work of the council, criticised the figures when it met this week.

Performance indicators revealed it was taking 74 days to process new claims and that less than half of renewal applications were being processed on time -- within 14 days of being received.

The meeting came a week after people across the borough said they had been left fearing eviction after their benefits were held up, preventing them from paying rent and council tax.

Council bosses blamed the backlog on a new system of working adopted since part of the benefits service was handed over to Capita, the private firm doing much of the council's administrative work.

They process and check claims, but they still need to be authorised by the council, effectively creating a two-tier system, said Miranda Carruthers-Watts, assistant director for welfare rights.

Both Capita and the council have now employed more staff to tackle the backlog, she told the meeting. She added: "We know the situation is unacceptable, but we are catching up and will, hopefully, meet targets in the future.

"The figures look bad because we have had to deal with some particularly complicated claims and because, sometimes, forms are submitted incomplete. However, it is getting better."

Coun Stephen Greenwood, who chairs the committee, said: "The figures aren't good and they must improve. It is very worrying."

At a meeting of the full council, Coun Maureen Bateson said she would be asking the Government to change the law.

She said: "By simplifying parts of it so we didn't need this two tier system, I don't think there would be such a problem."

Now, council staff are being placed in Blackburn county court to make sure no-one is evicted because of the backlog.

Miss Carruthers-Watts said she hoped the initiative would enable people facing problems to access the help they needed quickly.

And Coun Bateson added: "Anyone who fears they could be evicted should call us straight away."

Capita today saidthey were expecting to catch up with the backlog 'soon' and said it had taken a while for things to settle down after the original transfer.