Housing Benefit Fraud (Hansard, 10 February 2000)

§ Angela Eagle

[holding answer 31 January 2000]: The local authorities (LAs) in the following list did not submit any information regarding fraudulent Housing Benefit cases in Great Britain for the period 1997–98 as outlined in the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit management information system guide. 267W

Amber Valley
Arun
Basildon
Birmingham
Breckland
Brentwood
Bridgnorth
Caradon
Cardiff
Carrick
Craven
Croydon
Dacorum
Dumfries and Galloway
East Dorset
East Lothian
Enfield
Epping Forest
Falkirk
Glasgow
Hertsmere
Highland
Leominster
Mendip
Mid Sussex
Midlothian
Mole Valley
Monmouthshire
Neath Port Talbot
Newport
North Ayrshire
North Cornwall
North Warwickshire
North Wiltshire
Norwich
Peterborough
Powys
Richmondshire
Ryedale
Salisbury
Scottish Borders
Slough
South Norfolk
Tamworth
Torfaen
Trafford
Uttlesford
Waverley
West Dumbartonshire
West Lothian
Westminster
Wigan
Wokingham

We have made it clear to all LAs that an additional £100 million was available to enable them all to implement fully the Verification Framework (VF) by March 2001. At 7 February 2000, 237 authorities have already been funded or accepted the offer of funds to implement fully the VF and we are processing a further seven recent applications for funding. Of the remaining authorities, some have started to implement parts of the VF or are operating their own local versions and others have not yet informed us of their intentions to implement. It would be inaccurate to describe such authorities as not implementing the VF.

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The following list names those authorities that have either already been funded or have accepted a recent offer of funds or have submitted an application for funding which is currently being processed.

Aberdeenshire
Adur
Alnwick
Amber Valley
Anglesey
Argyll and Bute
Arun
Ashfield
Ashford
Aylesbury Vale
Babergh
Barking (LB)
Barnet (LB)
Barrow in Furness
Basingstoke
Bassetlaw
Bedford
Birmingham
Blaby
Blaenau Gwent
Bolton
Boston
Bournemouth
Bracknell
Bradford
Braintree
Breckland
Bridgend
Bristol
Broadland
Bromsgrove
Broxbourne
Burnley
Cambridge
Canterbury
Carlisle
Carrick
Castle Point
Cheltenham
Chester
Chester-le-Street
Chesterfield
Chichester
Chiltern
Chorley
Clackmannanshire
Colchester
Congleton
Conwy
Costwold
Crewe and Nantwich
Croydon (LB)
Darlington
Daventry
Derwentside
Dover
Dudley
Dumfries and Galloway
Durham
Ealing L.B.
East Devon
East Dorset
East Dunbartonshire
East Hampshire
East Hertfordshire
East Lothian
East Northampton
East Riding of Yorkshire
East Staffordshire
Eastbourne
Eastleigh
Eden
Ellesmere Port
Enfield (LB)
Epping Forest
Epsom and Ewell
Erewash
Exeter
Falkirk
Fareham
Gateshead
Gedling
Gosport
Gravesham
Great Yarmouth
Greenwich (LB)
Guildford
Gwynedd
Hackney (LB)
Halton
Harborough
Haringey (LB)
Harrow (LB)
Hart
Hartlepool
Herefordshire
High Peak
Horsham
Hounslow (LB)
Huntingdon
Hyndburn
Inverclyde
Ipswich
Isle of Wight
Islington (LB)
Kennet
Kensington and Chelsea
Kerrier
Kettering
King's Lynn and West Norfolk
Kingston Upon Hull
Knowsley
Leeds
Leicester City
Lewisham (LB)
Lichfield
Lincoln
Liverpool
Macclesfield
Maldon
Malvern Hills
Medway Towns
Melton
Mid Devon
Mid Sussex
Milton Keynes
Mole Valley
Monmouthshire
Neath Port Talbot
New Forest
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newham (LB)
North Cornwall
North Dorset
North East Derbyshire
North East Lincolnshire
North Hertfordshire
North Lanarkshire
North Norfolk
North Shropshire
North Somerset
North Warwickshire
North Wiltshire
Norwich
Nottingham
Nuneaton
Oadby and Wigston
Oldham
Oswestry
Oxford
Penwith
Peterborough
Plymouth
Poole
Portsmouth
Purbeck
Reading
Redbridge (LB)
Redcar and Cleveland
Reigate and Banstead
Renfrewshire
Restormel
Rhondda, Cynon, Taff
Ribble Valley
Richmond upon Thames
Richmondshire DC
Rochdale
Rother
Rugby
Runnymede
Rushcliffe
Ryedale
Salisbury
Scarborough BC
Sedgefield
Sevenoaks
Sheffield
Shepway
Slough
South Ayrshire
South Bucks
South Cambridgeshire
South Gloucestershire
South Kesteven
South Lakeland
South Lanarkshire
South Norfolk
South Northants
South Ribble
South Staffordshire
South Tyneside
Southampton
Southend-on-Sea
Southwark (LB)
Spelthorne
St. Albans
St. Edmundsbury
Stafford
Staffordshire Moorlands
Stevenage
Stockport
Stockton-on-Tees
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stroud
Sunderland
Surrey Heath
Sutton (LB)
Swansea
Swindon
Tameside
Taunton Deane
Teesdale
Teignbridge
Test Valley
Tewkesbury
Thurrock
Tonbridge and Malling
Torbay
Torridge
Trafford
Tunbridge Wells
Vale of White Horse
Wandsworth (LB)
Waveney
Wear Valley
Wellingborough
Welwyn Hatfield
West Dorset
West Lancashire
West Oxfordshire
West Wiltshire
Weymouth and Portland
Wigan
Winchester
Windsor and Maidenhead
Wirral
Woking
Wokingham
Wolverhampton
Worthing
Wychavon
Wycombe
Wyre

The Royal Mail has advised that as at the end of January the 248 local authorities in the following list have implemented in full the Royal Mail "do not redirect" service. Of the remaining 161 authorities, a number are preparing to implement the service and some are operating their own local arrangements. It would be inaccurate to describe such authorities as not operating "non-redirection" of post. However, information on which authorities fall into these categories could be collected only at disproportionate cost.

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Aberdeen City Council
Aberdeenshire Council
Adur District Council
Allerdale
Alnwick
Amber Valley
Angus
Ashfield
Ashford
Aylesbury
Babergh
Barnet
Barnsley
Basildon
Basingstoke and Deane
Bassetlaw
Bath and North East Somerset
Berwick Upon Tweed
Bexley
Birmingham
Blaby
Blackburn with Darwen
Blackpool
Blyth Valley
Bolton
Boston
Bournemouth
Bracknell Forest
Bradford
Braintree
Brent
Brentwood
Bridgnorth
Bristol
Bromsgrove
Broxstowe
Caerphilly
Calderdale
Cambridge
Camden
Canterbury
Cardiff
Carmarthenshire
Castle Morpeth
Cheltenham
Cherwell
Chester
Chichcester
Chiltern
Chorley
Christchurch
City and County of Swansea
City of London
Clackmannanshire
Congleton
Conwy
Corby
Cotswold
Craven
Crawley
Crewe and Nantwich
Croydon
Daventry
Denbighshire
Derby
Derbyshire Dales
Doncaster
Dundee
Durham
East Cambridgeshire
East Hampshire
East Lindsey
East Northamptonshire
East Renfrewshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
Eastbourne
Edinburgh
Epping Forest
Fareham
Fenland
Fife
Forest Heath
Forest of Dean
Fylde
Gedling
Glasgow
Gloucester
Gosport
Greenwich
Guildford
Hackney
Halton
Hambleton
Hammersmith and Fulham
Harlow
Harrogate
Harrow
Hart
Hartlepool
Hastings
Herefordshire
Hertsmere
High Peak
Hillingdon
Hounslow
Ipswich
Kennet
Kerrier
Kingston Upon Hull
Kirklees
Lancaster
Lewes
Lewisham
Lincoln
Liverpool
Luton
Macclesfield
Maldon
Manchester
Melton
Mendip
Merton
Mid Bedfordshire
Mid Suffolk
Mid Sussex
Middlesbrough
Midlothian
Monmouth
Neath Port Talbot

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New Forest
Newark and Sherwood
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newham
North Ayrshire
North Cornwall
North Devon
North Dorset
North East Derbyshire
North Kesteven
North Lanarkshire
North Wiltshire
Northampton
Nuneaton and Bedworth
Oldham
Orkney Islands
Oxford
Poole
Portsmouth
Preston
Purbeck
Reading
Redcar and Cleveland
Redditch
Renfrewshire
Restormel
Rhondda Cynon Taff
Ribble Valley
Richmond upon Thames
Richmondshire
Rochdale
Rochford
Rossendale
Rother
Rotherham
Windsor and Maidenhead
Runnymede
Rushcliffe
Rushmoor
Rutland
Ryedale
Salisbury
Scarborough
Scottish Borders
Sedgefield
Sedgemoor
Selby
Sevenoaks
Shepway
Shetland Islands
Shrewsbury and Atcham
Slough
Solihull
South Buckinghamshire
South Cambridgeshire
South Holland
South Lanarkshire
South Norfolk
South Oxfordshire
South Ribble
South Somerset
South Staffs
South Tyneside
Southampton
Southend-on-Sea
Spelthorne
St. Albans

275W

St. Helens
Stafford
Stevenage
Stirling
Stockport
Stoke-on-Trent
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stroud
Sunderland
Surrey Heath
Tameside
Tandridge
Taunton Deane
Teesdale
Telford and Wrekin
Tendring
Test Valley
Tewkesbury
Thanet
Three Rivers
Thurrock
Tunbridge and Malling
Torbay
Torridge
Trafford
Tynedale
Vale of Glamorgan
Vale of the White Horse
Vale Royal
Wakefield
Warrington
Warwick
Waveney
Waverley
Wealden
West Berkshire
West Lancashire
West Oxfordshire
West Wiltshire
Western Isles
Wigan
Winchester
Wirral
Woking
Wokingham
Wrexham
Wychavon
Wyre
York