§ Ms KellyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the level of fraud in respect of housing benefit in(a) Bolton, (b) the North West and (c) England. [75621]
§ Mr. TimmsThere are no figures available regarding the level of Housing Benefit fraud in Bolton.
The results of the 1997–98 Housing Benefit Accuracy Review provide the estimates shown in the table for the percentage of the Housing Benefit caseload in 1997–98 within each of the categories.
Percentage of caseload Confidence limits North West Confirmed fraud 1.6 Below 0.05–3.4 Strong suspicion of fraud 4.3 1.9–6.8 Mild suspicion of fraud 1.1 Below 0.05–2.7 England Confirmed fraud 1.5 0.8–2.3 Strong suspicion of fraud 4.1 1.8–7.2 Mild suspicion of fraud 1.2 0.7–2.0 Great Britain Confirmed fraud 1.9 1.3–2.6 Strong suspicion of fraud 4.0 1.9–6.8 Mild suspicion of fraud 1.1 0.7–1.7 Note:
The main figures provide the best estimate from the review for the percentage of the Housing Benefit caseload in 1997–98 within each of the categories. These estimates are uncertain since conclusions about the level of fraudulent payments were derived from evidence from a sample of HB claims. The uncertainty surrounding an estimate derived from a sample can be quantified by calculating "confidence limits". For the table above 95 per cent. confidence limits have been calculated for each of the estimates and are shown in brackets. These limits indicate the range within which we can be 95 per cent. certain that the true value lies. For each estimate derived there is a 5 per cent. chance that the true value lies outside the stated range.