§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will list those councils which have never prosecuted claimants for housing benefit fraud; [104616]
(2) if he will give details for the most recent year for which he has data of how many individual cases of fraud have been committed by local authority (i) members and (ii) officers; what the total value of that fraud is; how many prosecutions have so far occurred; how much of the money has been returned; and how many of the (a) members and (b) officials were dismissed from local authority employment. [104656]
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many(a) councillors and (b) council officers he estimates are involved in housing benefit fraud; [105017]
(2) what powers local authorities have to prosecute (a) councillors and (b) council officers involved in housing benefit fraud. [104989]
§ Angela EagleThe Department collects information on the total number of cases referred for prosecution by local authorities and whether they have been successful. In 1997–98, 212 local authorities referred 1,148 cases for prosecution, of which 631 were successfully convicted. This information is not broken down by type. Information about those authorities who did not prosecute any cases, or did not provide information on whether they had, has been placed in the Library.
Evidence from the Audit Commission provided to the Public Accounts Committee indicated that 382 cases involving housing benefit fraud by council staff and councillors in 57 local authorities in England and Wales had occurred in 1998–99.
We are as dissatisfied as the PAC with the level of fraud and error in housing benefit—particularly where council members or officers are found to be involved. Local authorities should take a firm line and prosecute fraud wherever it occurs. This is why we set up a pilot 338W exercise giving 174 authorities access to DSS solicitors to help prosecute wrongdoing and to establish why authorities are slow to prosecute.
Councillors and council officers should always be prosecuted where they are found to be fraudulent and it is in the public interest to do so. There also has to be sufficient evidence to prosecute. The ethical standards Bill will put in place a new framework to deliver high standards of conduct throughout local government.
Local authorities have the same powers to prosecute councillors and council officers as those used to prosecute benefit claimants who commit housing benefit fraud. Councillors and officers would normally be prosecuted under the Theft Act 1968 or the Social Security Administration Act 1992.
Reforms we have already set in train such as the Verification Framework (an intensive case checking regime), combined with rigorous identity checks and the requirement on claimants to provide National Insurance numbers will help to prevent and root out all types of fraud. New financial incentives will reward local authorities for prosecuting benefit fraudsters.
§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his Department's follow-up procedure for Benefit Fraud Inspectorate reports on local authorities; what follow-up assessments have been made to date; and if he will place the follow-up assessments in the Library. [104613]
§ Angela EagleFollowing publication of a Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report, the Department invites the local authority to consider and respond to the report and to submit any proposals for improving its performance and remedying any failings identified by the report. The report and any proposals made by the local authority in response to it are then considered to determine whether the Secretary of State should give directions to the authority as to any standards the authority is to attain and the time within which they are to be attained.
To date, 37 reports on local authorities have been published and responses by local authorities in respect of 33 of them have been, or are currently being, considered by the Department. In those cases where consideration has been completed the local authorities have been requested to provide periodic progress reports to enable us to monitor implementation of their action plans and future performance.
§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many local authorities have implemented the Verification Framework relating to housing benefit fraud. [104618]
§ Angela EagleAt 12 January 2000, 226 local authorities have received funds to implement the Verification Framework.
§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what procedures he has established to assess the fraud savings from the best value project. [104614]
§ Angela EagleThe central purpose of best value is to make a real and positive difference to the service people receive from their local authorities. We are setting from this April best value performance indicators for housing benefit and council tax benefit delivery, including an 339W interim security indicator for 2000–01. These will help drive forward continuous improvements in the standards of service authorities provide to people claiming the benefits.
We remain committed to reducing substantially the amount lost each year through fraud and error. We are continuing to press local authorities to root out fraud. For example, we have just announced new financial incentives for authorities to encourage them to undertake more prosecutions and to stop fraud getting into the system by implementing the Verification Framework.
§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many(a) administrative financial penalties and (b) formal cautions were issued to benefit claimants in the year for which he has the most recent data; [104660]
(2) what, in the last year for which figures are available, was the total amount collected from the 30 per cent. penalty on minor frauds when the scheme first came into operation; and what enhancements were made to the scheme between January and July 1999. [104617]
§ Mr. RookerThe number of administrative penalties and cautions issued for the year 1998–99 and the year to date are as follows:
Administration Penalties Cautions 1998–99 1,637 1,239 1999 to date 2,945 3,717 These figures are constantly being updated as notification of penalties and cautions for 1998–99 and 1999 to date are still being received.
The value of Administrative Penalties imposed to date is £1,070,934. The overpayment is fully collected before the penalty, so therefore in the majority of cases the recovery of the penalty has not yet commenced, but it will.
There have been no enhancements to the scheme.
§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cases of housing benefit fraud by local authority(a) members and (b) officials were detected in the City of Edinburgh in 1998–99. [104653]
§ Angela EagleThe City of Edinburgh has advised that no cases of benefit fraud were detected involving council members. One case was detected involving an officer in 1998–99.