§ Ms LynneTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what were the savings made by his Department in tackling organised method of payment fraud in 1993–94 and 1994–95; what were the reasons for any changes in savings; and what new policies his Department intends to take to increase substantially the savings by tackling organised method of payment fraud. [37591]
§ Mr. HealdWe have adopted a number of preventative measures as key elements of our strategy for tackling fraud. The redesign of the order book has dramatically reduced the incidence of counterfeiting and manipulation, and the use of secure delivery arrangements for order books to post offices has significantly reduced losses in transit. This has meant a reduction in the Benefits Agency's organised fraud teams' detected savings from £54.8 million for method of payment fraud in 1993–94 to £20.3 million in 1994–95.
We intend to continue the policy of enhancing preventive measures such as the electronic stop notice system in the south-east of England and the incentive scheme for post offices to identify fraudulent encashments. The benefit payment card which is scheduled to begin roll-out in 1996 will replace payment by order books and giro cheques. It is estimated it will help eliminate fraud of £140 million a year.
Alongside this preventive work, organised fraud teams will continue to examine new organised fraud trends that may emerge and develop their intelligence and operational capabilities to detect and investigate this type of fraud.