HC Deb 24 January 2000 vol 343 cc79-80W
Lorna Fitzsimons

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to publish the report of the independent review of organised fraud. [106947]

Mr. Darling

Last February, I asked John Scampion, Social Fund Commissioner, to review the way we tackled organised fraud. Mr. Scampion has completed his review and I have placed a copy of his report in the Library.

Organised fraud occurs across the Social Security system. It includes forgery, theft and other abuse of instruments of payment, operation of multiple false identities, and fraud by landlords and tenants. Mr. Scampion was asked specifically to consider how we could counter such threats, in particular through prevention, by designing structures and processes to minimise risk and secure the system against fraud.

At present the Benefits Agency has a unit dedicated to countering organised fraud which Mr. Scampion has commended for its energy, skill and professionalism. Within local authorities there is very little co-ordinated action against organised fraud.

Mr. Scampion's report makes a number of recommendations I will be considering further, but in the meantime I can announce that I will: set up a new national benefits intelligence unit to co-ordinate and extend intelligence on Social Security fraud, as the bedrock for both prevention and detection; overhaul and strengthen the capability and professionalism of investigators to tackle organised benefit fraud right across the benefit system. I will appoint a senior civil servant to manage the central organised fraud investigation service and to act as the Head of Profession for all benefit fraud investigators; set up new arrangements with local authorities to ensure investigations are targeted properly across the Social Security system; pursue (as announced last week) changes to the funding arrangements for local authority investigation work by developing a completely new anti-fraud incentive framework to be introduced from April 2001.

All of this will contribute to a significant strengthening of our defences against organised fraud and our ability to tackle it where it occurs.

In addition, as I have already announced, our plans to pay benefits through the banking system are a major step in preventing organised fraud attacks on our present, paper based, payment mechanisms.