BURNLEY'S crisis-hit housing benefits service is to get a cash injection of almost £180,000 to clear a backlog of claims.
The bulk of the money will go on employing extra staff to deal with benefits applications. But the cost to council- taxpayers of the scheme, due to be ratified by councillors within the next few weeks, will only be around £40,000. It is expected that the remainder of the investment will be met by savings, extra government subsidy and recovery of overpayments.
The service has been under fire for some months, with scores of people phoning the benefits office to complain that their applications had not been dealt with, many of them being threatened with eviction as a result of benefits not being paid.
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