§ Mr. John Mooreasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Mr. Hooley) [Official Report, 11th January, c. 450–1], on cohabitation investigations, what was the total cost to public funds of the employees investigating the 10,182 cases in 1975; what was the total amount of benefit withdrawn in 4,062 cases; what were the costs in relation to the investigations of the 6,822 cases in the first nine months of 1976 as opposed to the amount of benefits withdrawn in 2,726 cases.
§ Mr. Orme,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 20th January 1976; Vol. 924, c. 295], gave the following information:
The cost of investigating the 10,182 cases in 1975 is estimated to be £700,000. The total weekly saving of benefit in the 4,062 cases where payment ceased was approximately £70,000. The corresponding figures for 1976 are not yet known. The total saving would depend on (a) how long a wrongful payment would have continued but for the investigation and (b) how quickly, if at all, a valid claim was subsequently made. It would not be possible to collect (a) or justifiable to collect (b).