§ John BarrettTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many(a) successful and (b) unsuccessful appeals were made against decisions made on (i) disability and (ii) sickness benefits in each year since 1997; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the primary decision-making process for (A) disability and (B) sickness benefits. [153377]
§ Maria EagleThe information is in the table.
variation in (a) housing benefit, (b) income support and (c) jobseeker's allowance fraud; and if he will make a statement. [147830]
§ Mr. PondWe are committed to driving down levels of fraud and error in the benefits system, including tackling regional variations; and there are a number of specific initiatives within our agencies to achieve this.
The latest published national statistical report 'Fraud and Error in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance from April 2001 to March 2002' provides a breakdown of estimates of Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance fraud by each Government Office Region. A copy is available in the Library.
We cannot provide an estimate of the regional variation in Housing Benefit fraud because the measurement sample only supports a national estimate.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the annual level of(a) detected and (b) undetected benefit fraud in each of the last six years. [151020]
305W
§ Mr. PondWe estimate that approximately £2 billion per annum is overpaid as a result of fraud.
We make regular estimates of the total amount of fraud overpayments on Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and Housing Benefit and the results are published as National Statistics.
Our estimates of levels of fraud and error in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance are published in the series of reports "Fraud and Error in Claims for Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance."
For Housing Benefit, we published "Fraud and Error in Housing Benefit, April 2002 to March 2003" on 11 December 2003. This report represents the first national headline estimates, for the level of fraud and error in Housing Benefit, derived via the statistical analysis of data collected by the Housing Benefit Review (HBR) continuous measurement exercise. Copies of the reports have been placed in the Library.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what guidance he has issued regarding joint prosecution for benefit fraud with local authorities; [155071]
(2) what guidance he has issued to local authorities about undertaking joint prosecutions with the Department of Work and Pensions for benefit fraud. [155103]
§ Mr. PondComprehensive guidance is provided to fraud investigators in this Department and in local authorities in the form of the Fraud Procedures and Instructions (FPI) Manual. Guidance on joint proceedings with local authorities was updated in June and August 2003, with additional specific guidance on joint prosecutions also issued in August 2003.
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many joint prosecutions have been undertaken by the Department with local authorities on benefit fraud in each of the last five years, broken down by local authority; [155072]
(2) how many joint prosecutions with local authorities for benefit fraud have been suspended in the last three months. [155104]
§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the office of the Deputy Prime Minister about the implications of the Howell Opinion on joint prosecutions for benefit fraud. [155271]
§ Mr. PondThere have been no discussions concerning the implications of the Howell Opinion with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. However, Department for Work and Pensions lawyers and officials are continuing to work on the implications of the Opinion to ensure that effective joint working between DWP and local authorities may continue within the existing statutory framework.