§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will update the information in the table given to the hon. Member for Birkenhead on 12 June 1979, Official Report, c. 211–12, concerning abuse of social security benefits.
§ Mr. RossiThe information requested is attached.
The figures do not represent the total amount of legally recoverable overpayments incurred during the year, but the amount of such overpayments which the department decides in that year that it has no prospect of recovering. The actual overpayments may have occurred in that or any previous year. The individual amounts which make up the figures may be the whole overpayment in the case or that part of it which remains after a partial, usually staged, repayment.
164W
Irrecoverable overpayments of benefit recorded in 1979–80 Total Fraud on the part of the claimant or other person not being a servant of She Department £ £ Family Benefit 698,210 78,763 Unemployment Benefit 3,000,257 385257 Sickness and Invalidity Benefit 2,976,089 437,535 Maternity Benefit 82,856 5,684 Widow's Benefit 315,717 125,392 Retirement Pension 799,565 58,297 Industrial Injury Benefits 247,199 24,905 Others 349,882 14,779 Supplementary Benefit 12,756,162 3,633,084 War Pensions 107,227 30,243 Total 21,333,164 4,793,939