§ Ms LynneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals have been successfully prosecuted for fraudulent claims relating to housing benefit in each year since 1991; what assessment he has made of the correlation between the number of criminal prosecutions for fraudulent claims of housing benefit and the total amount of housing benefit fraud; and what joint initiatives he has undertaken with the Department of Social Security on the matter. [29970]
§ Mr. MacleanIt is not possible from the information held centrally by my Department to identify offences relating to fraudulent claims of housing benefit from other summary offences.
There are no joint initiatives between the Home Office and the Department of Social Security on this matter.
§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what evidence he has evaluated of links between organised crime and systematic abuse of the housing benefit system. [30450]
§ Mr. MacleanOrganised criminals have been involved in serious fraud against the benefit system, including housing benefit. The National Criminal Intelligence Service and the police are working closely with other agencies to identify and tackle this type of crime.