HC Deb 14 March 1989 vol 149 c199W
107. Mr. Favell

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on his campaign to reduce unemployment benefit fraud.

Mr. Lee

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said in his reply to my hon. Friend's question of 14 February 1989 at column145 on 15 February the drive against fraudulent benefit claims is being intensified. In the nine months from April 1988 325,000 cases were investigated compared with 286,000 in the same period in 1987. Increased resources have been devoted to fraud detection, particularly in the south-east, and a new inner London fraud team has been established to pursue investigations into the hidden economy.

116. Sir John Stokes

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest figure for savings for 1988 as a result of investigations of fraudulent claims; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Lee

The net benefit saving from my Department's fraud investigation work during 1988 was £65 million.