§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of prosecutions for benefit fraud were prosecuted under the Theft Acts in each year since 1992–93.[79794]
§ Mr. TimmsQuestions on Benefits Agency operational matters are the responsibility of its Chief Executive, Peter Mathison. He will write to my right hon. Friend.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Frank Field, dated 13 April 1999:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of prosecutions for benefit fraud were prosecuted under the Theft Acts in each year since 1992–3.
The figures are not available for prosecutions for the years 1992 to 1995.
In 1995/6 the Benefits Agency and the Employment Service together prosecuted a total of 13,972 cases. Of these, 320 cases were classed as Theft Act or Serious Fraud, and a further 420 were prosecuted by Organised Fraud teams. Specific figures for total prosecutions under the Theft Act were not compiled.
I am able to give you the figures, as requested, for the financial year's 1996/7, 1997/8, and 1998/9. They are included in the attached table. For the year 1998/99, for the first time, we have prosecuted under the Theft Act where the amount of benefit involved is less than £5,000. This resulted in a further 2,169 prosecutions.
I hope that this is helpful.
277W
Prosecutions for benefit fraud Theft Act prosecutions Total prosecutions Percentage 1996–97 750 11,770 6.4 1997–98 835 12,074 6.9 1998–99 1,23,441 8,268 41.6 1 Figures are as at 28 February 1999 2 Includes prosecutions for the first time where the amount of benefit involved is less than £5,000 Notes:
Figures provided by BA Security
Figures are provisional and subject to change