HC Deb 09 December 1975 vol 902 cc145-7W
29. Mr. Kenneth Clarke

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will take further steps to reduce the level of fraud and abuse of the social security system.

Mr. O'Malley

We are always considering improved methods and procedures and a number of positive steps have been taken in the last year. Following is information about some recent developments:

MEASURES TO COUNTER SOCIAL SECURITY FRAUD AND ABUSE

General 1. The work done or started during the last year to control social security fraud and abuse has included work directed towards:

  1. (1) better co-ordination of the Department's response to fraud and abuse;
  2. (2) better use of resources;
  3. (3) better technical standards;
  4. (4) a more effective response to organised criminal activity;
  5. (5) better standards of prevention;
  6. (6) better communications between fraud specialists.

Better Co-ordination 2. In its report (Cmnd. 5228) the Fisher Committee recognised the need for better co-ordination of the Department's work. A specialist Headquarters Branch was set up in January 1975 with wide-ranging responsibilities which enable it to look at any aspect of the Department's work which is relevant to the control of fraud and abuse, and to provide line-management, at all levels within the Department, with an analytical and advisory service. The Branch is now fully staffed and operational.

Better Use of Resources 3. The work currently in hand includes:

  1. (1)the study of how to get better management data (eg the staff-time devoted to fraud and the results achieved): this should enable more informed decisions to be taken about where and how to concentrate investigations;
  2. (2)a study of the present arrangements for organising fraud work, eg between Regional and local offices and between different types of investigator;
  3. (3)productivity studies, eg to eliminate delays in investigation, to stop investigations at the earliest possible stage if they seem likely to prove abortive, and to eliminate any work which is not essential to establish or disprove suspected fraud.

Better Technical Standards 4. Present work includes a major review of the instructions, training and other support services provided for investigating staff and for the officers who supervise their work.

Criminal Activity 5. Like all organisations handling large sums of money, the Department is a target for organised criminal gangs. By working closely with the Police and the Post Office, far more is now known about the methods used by these gangs, and techniques both of detection and of prevention are steadily being improved.

Prevention of Fraud 6. Greater knowledge of the types and scale of social security fraud and abuse has already enabled preventative measures to be introduced or strengthened. This work will be greatly increased, and will be the main longterm priority of the specialist Branch.

Communications 7. The Department has some 4,000 specialist officers, who, for all or part of their time, are engaged in countering overt fraud. Virtually all officers involved in paying benefits can help to counter abuse. High priority has been given to providing these officers with a fuller understanding of the risks of fraud and abuse, and the techniques available for detection or prevention. Officers of the specialist Branch at Headquarters have already been involved in over 50 seminars, lectures and discussions in addition to the continuing work being done by the specialist staff at Regional Offices.

Results 8. Many of these developments are still at an early, analytical stage. But it can be said that in 1974 the Department detected more cases of social security fraud than ever before—32,000 compared with 26,000 in 1970—and prosecuted in some 12,500 cases as compared with about 6,500 in 1970.

Sir J. Eden

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many cases of suspected social security abuse were investigated; and in how many of these abuse was discovered in the last year for which figures are available.

Mr. O'Malley

In 1974, the last year for which figures are available, fraud was discovered by the Department, or in the case of unemployment benefit by the Department of Employment, in about 40,000 cases. Apart from inquiries by special invesitgators in both Departments, which numbered about 30,500, no record is kept of the total number of investigations made.