§ Mr. Clinton Davisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement describing the duties of special investigators employed in his Department.
§ Mr. Dean:The duties of special investigators, who are ordinary executive officers of the Department, are to investigate suspicion of supplementary benefit fraud of all kinds where inquiries would be too complex or time consuming for officers engaged in the day-to-day work of local offices.
§ Mr. Clinton Davisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what expenditure is incurred in the employment of special investigators by his Department in respect of their duties concerning inquiries into applications for benefit made by women alleged to be cohabiting with men.
§ Mr. Dean:I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Meacher) on 21st October, 1971. No record is kept of the proportion of special investigators' time spent in inquiry into cases of alleged cohabitation, but of all the cases investigated in 1971 little more than one third were in this category.—[Vol. 823, c. 199-200.]
232W