LANCASTER City Council's beleaguered benefits department faces another five month backlog following further Government rule changes.

The department which was forced to close its doors to the public to try and catch up on the backlog last year, currently has 128 new claims awaiting action which date back to November 2000.

Finance chief, Richard Mason, has written to councillors to express his concern at the number of Government circulars which add to his department's bureaucracy creating further delays.

He explained to councillors that he had no choice but to enforce DSS guidelines and said: "These training notes and instructions will do nothing to speed the process of paying housing benefit and nothing to simplify an already complex and bureaucratic procedure. But they cannot be ignored. Management time training staff and then quality checking the actual work resulting from the implementation of the circulars is also extensive. None of this work contributes to the speed of paying our claimants benefit."

At the height of the backlog in March last year there were 12,000 items of post outstanding which was reduced to 2,000 following the enforced closedown.

There are currently 5,193 items of post outstanding but officers fear this could rise to more than 6,267 by June if no action is taken to resolve the situation.

And with no money in the pot to pay for extra staff they are contemplating another temporary shutdown.

Cllr Jon Barry said: "Benefits staff are being put in an impossible position. Last year we received eighty wads of bureaucracy from the Government. The whole benefits system is being clogged up by a sea of bureaucracy from the Government. Meanwhile, landlords are going bankrupt and people needing housing benefit are finding it increasingly hard to find anywhere to live."