§ Mr. LilleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many calls have been received on the benefit fraud hot line in each month since it was established. [29719]
§ Mr. DenhamTackling fraud and abuse is a top priority for the Government.
Questions on Benefit Agency operational matters are the responsibility of the Chief Executive, Peter Mathison. He will write to the right hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Peter Lilley, dated 16 February 1998:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about how many calls have been received on the benefit fraud hot line in each month since it was established.Since its launch on 5 August 1996 to the end of January 1998, the National Benefit Fraud Hotline has received 359,684 calls. The monthly breakdown from August 1996 to January 1998 inclusive is shown in the attached annex.Future opportunity for publicity is currently under consideration.I hope you find this reply helpful.
National benefit fraud hotline monthly breakdown of calls received Month/Year Period of calls (weeks) Number of calls received August 1996 4 41,826 September 1996 5 32,633 October 1996 4 22,360 November 1996 4 21,805 December 1996 4 14,139 January 1997 4 15,831 February 1997 4 27,075 March 1997 5 31,185 April 1997 4 18,680 May 1997 4 15,072 June 1997 4 16,272 July 1997 5 18,808 August 1997 4 14,755 September 1997 4 12,362 October 1997 5 17,076 November 1997 4 11,770 December 1997 4 8,970 January 1998 5 19,065 Total 359,684 Note:
Figures are provisional and subject to change.
641W
§ Mr. SwinneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will estimate the number of people who are(a) claiming benefits fraudulently and (b) not claiming benefits to which they are entitled in (i) Great Britain and (ii) Scotland. [26091]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 3 February 1998]: The estimate of the number of people claiming fraudulently is informed by an extrapolation from the results of a series of benefit reviews. The Benefit Review programme which
Benefit % of confirmedfraud or strongsusplcion of fraudfoundwithin the casesexamined Year of Benefit Review Numbers claimingbenefit at a point inthat year(thousands) Estimated numberof peoplecommitting fraud atthe dateof review. Based onrandomsample of claims(thousands) Income Support 11.1 1996–97 5,553 620 Housing Benefit 6.3 1995–96 4,784 300 Disability Living Allowance 12.2 1995–96 1,688 210 Invalid Care Allowance 6.5 1995–96 325 21 Retirement Pension less than 0.013 1995–96 10,304 less than 13 Unemployment Benefit 7.8 1994–95 470 37 An additional indicator is the number of successful investigations. These are cases where, following a fraud investigation, one or a combination of the following conclusions occurs: benefit is reduced or stopped, an overpayment is calculated or a prosecution instigated. During 1996–97, 524,966 successful fraud investigations into claims administered by the Benefits Agency were carried out in Great Britain, of which 58,891 refer to investigations within Scotland.
Not all successful investigations result in a prosecution. The Benefits Agency prosecutes only the more serious cases of benefit fraud to act as a deterrent. Local authorities are responsible for the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. The total number of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit cases where fraud was established and a weekly benefit saving claimed for the year 1996–97 in Great Britain was 190,000, of these, 12,000 were in Scotland. 642W commenced in 1994 is looking at the extent of fraud and incorrectness in all major benefits. The benefit reviews were conducted under the previous administration and the definition of fraud used to produce results is currently being evaluated. All the figures presented are consistent with the results of the benefit reviews. The results should not be added together as some people will be committing fraud on several benefits and the reviews all refer to different periods. All the figures refer to Great Britain, separate estimates for Scotland are not available.
Successful investigations cannot be added to the results of the reviews to inform a total figure. The reviews are a snapshot of the level of fraud at the time the review was carried out, and these estimates can change.
The total number of people not claiming Income Related Benefits in 1995–96, were estimated to be between 2.9 and 4.5 million in Great Britain, and between 250,000 and 400,000 in Scotland. Estimates for other benefits are not available.
Notes:
1. Income Related Benefits refer to Income Support, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Family Credit. All estimates exclude the self-employed as their entitlement to income-related benefits cannot be readily established from survey data.
2. The estimate for Scotland should be regarded as indicative only, as it is based on modest sample sizes.
Source:
Family Resources Survey.