§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were prosecuted for committing benefit fraud in financial years(a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 1999–2000 and (d) 2000–01. [7579]
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§ Malcolm WicksThe information is in the tables:
Benefits Agency fraud investigations Year Prosecutions Cautions and administrative penalties as an alternative to prosecution1 Total 1997–98 12,009 — 12,009 1998–99 11,185 2,835 14,020 1999–2000 9,977 12,332 22,309 2000–01 9,030 15,092 24,122
Local authority investigations2 Year Number of successful prosecutions3 Number of administrative penalties1 administered as an alternative to prosecution3 Total3 1997–98 700 — 700 1998–99 800 — 800 1999–2000 860 390 1,250 2000–01 1,100 550 1,650 1 Administrative Penalties, as an alternative to prosecution, were introduced by the Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act (1997) with effect from December 1998. 2 Figures are taken from local authority management information returns. It is possible that there could be some double counting with Benefits Agency data if there were cases which involved a joint prosecution. 3 Data are not available for all 409 local authorities. The total for Great Britain includes estimates for local authorities that have not responded. These estimates are based on historical and regional data. This type of estimate is standard practice in reporting totals where there have been non-respondents. The figures have been rounded to two significant figures.