§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the average amount of money recovered annually by(a) a Department for Work and Pensions senior fraud inspector and (b) a senior investigation officer in the Inland Revenue. [26238]
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Department and project 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 HMCE PFI Infrastructure Project — — — Yes Yes HMT GOGGS — — — Yes — IR Manchester Yes Yes — — — Bootle — Yes Yes Yes — Glasgow Yes Yes — — — Edinburgh Yes Yes — — — Stockport — Yes Yes — — NIRS2 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes NED Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes STEPS — — — — Yes
§ Dawn PrimaroloThere is no position of 'senior fraud inspector' in the Department for Work and Pensions. Nor is it possible to separate the total amount of overpaid benefit recovered into overpayments due to fraud and those due to other reasons. It is therefore not possible to say what is the average amount of money recovered annually by a Department for Work and Pensions senior fraud inspector.
The term 'senior investigation officer' does not refer to any specific group of Inland Revenue staff. However, the Inland Revenue annual report, available in the House of Commons Library, details the additional liability identified as a result of work to tackle non-compliance undertaken by specialist offices such as the Large Business Office and the Special Compliance Office.