§ Lord Marlesfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there is now in place a system to prevent the obtaining or holding of a National Insurance number by persons not entitled to one. [HL240]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Social Security (Baroness Hollis of Heigham)We are continuing to tackle the issue of National Insurance number (NINO) fraud in a number of ways. There are specific procedures aimed at preventing existing numbers from being used fraudulently and any application for a NINO is rigorously checked. Section 19 of the Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997 provides a requirement for all benefit applicants to provide sufficient information or evidence of identity, so that the correct NINO for the claimant and anyone else included in the claim can be traced and confirmed as appropriate to them.