§ Ms OsborneTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when she will publish the first annual report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate; and if she will make a statement. [52145]
§ Ms HarmanI have today published the first annual report by the Director General of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate (BFI).
Countering fraud is high on the Government's agenda. The green paper published last week, "Beating Fraud is everyone's business: Securing the future" (CM4012), sets out our overall strategy for tackling fraud. The fight against fraud is not just about investigating and detecting fraud when it happens; it is about stopping it getting into the system in the first place. The BFI, which I launched on 5 November, has a unique role to play here in driving up standards, by ensuring that DSS agencies and local authorities are doing their job properly, by actively promoting good working practices and in contributing to future policy development.
This new organisation is still at an early stage in its development but this first year has been one of significant achievement. BFI has established teams of inspectors based at four separate sites and its inspection process has been developed and rigorously tested in a programme of trial inspections, including work in the Benefits Agency. The report of the first live inspection of Blackpool Borough Council, published earlier this year, made valuable recommendations on a range of counter-fraud activities, especially highlighting improvements in work aimed at combating Housing Benefit fraud by landlords.
Copies of the published BFI Annual Report are available in the Library. Further copies are available on request.