§ Mr. Ralph HowellTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the number of reported cases of theft and fraud in(a) the national health service and (b) the Norwich health authority in each year since 1979 showing (i) the total number of cases reported, (ii) the number of cases reported to police, (iii) the number of prosecutions and (iv) the number of convictions in each year.
§ Mr. DorrellTable A provides information on the number of reported cases in the category of theft, fraud, arson, neglect of duty or gross carelessness as reported by Norwich health authority for the years since its inception in 1982, and corresponding data for all health authorities in England. No separate breakdown of fraud or theft is available.
218WHealth authorities are required to report to the Department annually all instances of alleged fraud and data are shown in table B. Norwich health authority has made no reports of fraud since the authority's inception.
Information on the number of theft cases reported to the police, prosecutions and convictions are not collected centrally by the Department.
Table A Reported cases of loss of cash, equipment and property in stores arising from theft, fraud, arson, neglect of duty or gross carelessness in health authorities in England Number of cases Year Norwich health authority All health authorities 1982–83 70 4,289 1983–84 85 4,181 1984–85 65 5,308 1985–86 76 5,199 1986–87 59 4,584 1987–88 37 3,840 1988–89 35 4,373 1989–90 33 4,028 Source: Annual Statement of Losses from Health Authorities for the relevant years.
Table B Reported cases of fraud in health authorities in England Number of cases reported by health authorities Year Reported to police Prosecutions Convictions 1982–83 1 1 0 1983–84 0 0 0 1984–85 6 6 6 1985–86 6 4 4 1986–87 8 7 7 1987–88 7 6 6 1988–89 5 3 3 1989–90 4 3 1