§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 16 March,Official Report, column 214, how many of the cases of social security investigations in (a) England and (b) Yorkshire and Humberside resulted in identified overpayments (i) inclusive of prosecutions for fraud and (ii) exclusive of prosecutions for fraud.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe administration of benefit fraud is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. David Hinchliffe,. dated 20 April 1993:
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking, pursuant to his answer of 16 March 1993, Official Report, column 214, how many of the cases of social security investigations in (a) England and (b) Yorkshire and Humberside resulted in identified overpayments (i) inclusive of prosecutions for fraud and (ii) exclusive of prosecutions for fraud.The last full year for which figures are available is the year ending 31 March 1992. The figures for the year ending 31 March 1993 will shortly be available and I will be pleased to write to you again with these details when I receive them. However, during the year ending 31 March 1992 a total of 40,674 investigations in England resulted in an identified 139W overpayment. Included in this figure are 5,685 identified overpayments in the Yorkshire and Humberside area. I am unable to provide details of those overpayment cases that resulted in prosecution for fraud as our statistics are not kept in this way.I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.