§ Mr. Evansasked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the basis of selection of the 155 claimants of unemployment benefit in St. Helens whose claims to benefit were investigated by his Department's regional benefit investigation team.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkSelection was made from amongst all categories of claimants where it was suspected that claims to benefit may have been fraudulent.
§ Mr. Evansasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what were the (a) age groups, (b) marital status and (c) sex of the 155 claimants of unemployment benefit, in St. Helens, whose claims to benefit were investigated by his Department's regional benefit investigation team;
(2) what were the (a) age groups, (b) marital status and (c) sex of the 20 claimants in St. Helens who withdrew their claims to unemployment benefit after being interviewed by his Department's regional benefit investigation team;
(3) how many of the 20 claimants in St. Helens who withdrew their claims to unemployment benefit after being interviewed by his Department's regional benefit investigation team had dependants; how many dependants each claimant had; and what were the ages of each claimant.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkInformation about the age groups, marital status and sex of the 155 claimants investigated, the 20 who withdrew their claims and of their dependants, is not readily available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Evansasked the Secretary of State for Employment what were the criteria used by his Department in deciding that none of the 20 claimants to unemployment benefit who withdrew their claims after being interviewed by his Department's regional benefit investigation team should be prosecuted for submitting a fraudulent claim.
§ Mr. Allan ClarkThe criteria used were consistent with the guidance on prosecution policy drawn up by my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General and placed in the Library on Monday 14 February 1983.
§ Mr. Evansasked the Secretary of State for Employment how long his Department's regional benefit investigation team spent in St. Helens; how many people 25W were in the team; what were their salary grades; and what was paid to each member of the team in overtime payments, subsistence allowances, travelling expenses and any other payments other than normal salary.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkA team of nine executive grade officers spent five weeks in St. Helens. Non-salary payments were made under normal Civil Service rules but information about individual payments is not appropriate for publication.