§ Mr. McQuarrieasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the total sums involved in fraud in benefit claims from his Department based on 1982 figures in the United Kingdom; how much of the amount was recovered; and if he will give separate figures for Scotland in each case.
§ Dr. BoysonThe Department has produced no firm estimate of the extent of undetected fraudulent claims to social security benefit; nor of the sums likely to have been improperly obtained as a result of such claims. Information about amounts improperly obtained and subsequently recovered as a result of fraudulent claims that have been detected is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.