§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many fraud officers his Department employs; what is their annual salary at each grade; what is their ratio to the number of his Department's local officers; and how many prosecutions they brought before the courts in 1976.
§ Mr. GoldingAll benefit service staff are concerned to prevent fraud and assist in its detection and prevention through checks carried out in the normal course of administering the benefit service. At the end of January 1977 there were 331 staff units directly employed on fraud investigation work in the unemployment benefit service. This work is almost entirely carried out by executive and clerical officers. The annual salary for these grades ranges, according to age and length of service, from £1,885—at 18—to £3,670 for executive officers and from £1,200—at 16—to £2,540 for clerical officers. Each officer also receives £313 per annum supplement allowed under the incomes policy. In addition, those working in inner264W London receive an allowance of £465 per annum and those in outer London £275 per annum. The ratio of fraud staff units to local office staff is approximately 1:60. In 1976, 2,376 prosecutions involving unemployment benefit fraud were brought before the courts.