§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many district offices of his Department do not have full-time fraud officers; and what percentage this is of all district offices in his Department.
§ Mr. OrmeThe investigation and detection of fraud are undertaken by officials who have special responsibility for it but the way in which their work is organised varies according to circumstances in each local office. This information is therefore not available.
§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the total of the annual salary bill of his Department in respect of full-time fraud officers at all levels; and what is the average annual salary of a full-time fraud officer in a district office of his Department.
§ Mr. OrmeFor the reasons given in my other reply to the hon. Member today, information on the number of full-time fraud officers in the Department and, therefore, their total salary bill is not available. The current average annual salary of an individual full-time fraud officer in a local office is £3,889.