§ Mrs. Iris RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what action is being taken to tackle benefit fraud; and if he will make a statement. [141850]
§ Mr. SpellarThe Government are totally committed to a robust approach to tackling fraud and abuse of the social security system wherever it occurs.
The Social Security Agency has a comprehensive and rigorous strategy for combating benefit fraud designed to ensure that:
claims entering the system are legitimate:once in the system claims are maintained properly; andwhere fraud and error do enter the system they are detected and appropriate action is taken.From April to October 2003, 5,267 cases of suspected fraud were investigated, of which 2,208 resulted in withdrawal of claims or changes in the rate of benefit paid and 293 were referred for prosecution. In the same period 147 cases were heard in court and 111 convictions obtained.