§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of claims for supplementary benefit made in each year since 1966.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe information is in the table below. The figures include claims resulting in a continuing award, those resulting in a single payment and those resulting in no award.
GREAT BRITAIN Calendar Year and Number of claims Thousands 1966* 3,600 (3,200) 1967 4,940 1968 6,080 1969 6,690 1970 6,080 1971 6,430 1972 6,900 1973† 4,540 1974 4,900 1975 5,130 1976‡ 5,710 1977 5,740 1978 5,600 * Claims to national assistance included in the total in brackets. † The method of recording claims changed in 1973 in that persons who received continuing benefit after an initial immediate payment were not recorded as having made two claims. Subsequent figures cannot therefore be compared with those up to 1972. ‡ Includes estimated data.
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will update the table on page 51 of the committee on abuse of social security benefits and detail the sum for each benefit which has been fraudulently claimed.
§ Mr. PrenticeThe table mentioned showed the available figures for net losses recorded in 1971–72 in respect of overpayments which were legally recoverable. However, as forecast in paragraph 154 of the report, a revised and uniform basis for the analysis of net losses was instituted from the 1972–73 financial year, with the result that figures produced thereafter are not comparable with the figures given for 1971–72. The table below, which is derived from the revised form of analysis and also includes benefits which have 211W been introduced subsequently, shows the latest figures available—that is, for 1977–78. An extra line has been added to the original table showing the war pension data.
These figures do not represent the total amount of legally recoverable overpayments incurred during the year, but the
IRRECOVERABLE OVERPAYMENTS OF BENEFIT RECORDED IN 1977–78 Total Fraud on the part of the claimant or other person not being a servant of the Department £ £ Family Benefits … … … … … 446,702 36,753 Unemployment Benefit … … … … 2,860,730 437,972 Sickness and Invalidity Benefits … … … 2,475,511 420,406 Maternity Benefits … … … … 61,419 6,840 Windows' Benefits … … … … … 265,873 120,422 Retirement Pension … … … … 590,652 60,495 Industrial Injury Benefits … … … 237,648 24,732 Others … … … … … … 211,519 7,757 Supplementary Benefits … … … … 9,935,553 2,802,052 TOTAL (excluding War Pensions) … … 17,085,607 3,917,429 War Pensions … … … … … 61,943 6,904 TOTAL … … … … … … 17,147,550 3,924,333