Government inspectors are to investigate a Teesside housing benefit department.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council will be inspected because it has "consistently failed to provide quarterly management information" to the Department of Works and Pensions.

Staff will be subjected to a 17-week inspection carried out by the Benefits Fraud Inspectorate. It will include four weeks on site and is expected to start next month.

"The authority failed to provide us with important information and although we have received it now it was late, massively late." said a spokesman for the Department of Works and Pensions.

"Therefore, the Secretary of State did not have current information on their performance. We hope this inspection will help reveal their true performance."

Yesterday, the authority launched a vigorous defence of its staff and denounced the department's claims as untrue.

Carol Barnes, assistant director for advice and information for the council, insisted that it kept the Government continually updated by providing necessary information.

"The inspectorate has already seen our work and has given us a four-out-of-four star rating, so we will welcome any further inspections."

"But we have had no communication about this matter from them and, although we are in regular e-mail contact concerning the information they do require, it needs to stressed that this information is voluntary, not mandatory.

"We are talking about six separate sets of quarterly returns, and in four of the six there are no problems.

"But we accept there are difficulties in giving the correct information on two sets and the department is well aware of the efforts we are making to rectify that."

The council is currently finalising an improved evaluation of the housing benefits service from the district audit, which is to be published next week.

Mrs Barnes said: "I am extremely proud of what the section has achieved and am extremely disappointed at the attempt to undermine it."

The news comes as the Government announced investigations into eight of the country's poorest performing councils and offered specialist advice from the Performance Improvement Action team to a further nine authorities.