§ 26. Mrs. Angela KnightTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress his Department has taken to reduce the level of fraudulent claims for social security benefits.
§ Mr. ScottWe are placing a greater emphasis on fraud prevention by increasing staff training and making more use of information technology. A range of other initiatives currently under way include a one-stop service, research into strengthening identity requirements and better verification details for claims and payments of benefits.
Last year, our investigators caught more than 270,000 people cheating the system, making record savings of £558 million.