§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to her answer on the benefits fraud hotline of 10 July,Official Report, column 591, if the weekly figure for benefit savings of £35 million relates to savings over a 12-month period; and if she will make it her policy in future answers to use the term "weekly benefit" only in circumstances where it is defined in the text. [11111]
§ Mr. DenhamOne of our key aims is to restore confidence in the benefits system by tackling fraud and ensuring value for taxpayers' money. Questions on Benefits Agency operational matters are the responsibility of the chief executive, Peter Mathison. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Paul Burstow, dated 29 July 1997:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking if the weekly figure for benefit savings of £35 million, referred to in my reply dated 9 July 1997, relates to savings over a 12 month period, if she will make it her policy in future answers to use the term weekly benefit only in circumstances where it is defined in the text.The £35 million weekly benefit savings have been generated since the launch of the Hotline on 5 August 1996 up to the end of May 1997, and relates to a ten month period. For the eleven month period up to the end of June 1997 the cumulative savings figure was £41.91 million. Weekly benefit savings are calculated by taking the difference between the amount incorrectly paid to an individual and the correct amount of benefit due, following intervention of the fraud officer. This amount is multiplied by 32. Based on research 363W which mainly covered Income Support, 32 weeks is the average length of time a claim would have continued if the fraud had not been detected. This multiplier is currently applied to all benefits.I apologise this was not made clear in my previous reply.I hope you find this reply helpful.