HC Deb 09 April 2003 vol 403 c280W
Mr. Oliver Heald

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 18 March,Official Report, column 698W, on asylum support fraud, if he will make a statement on the level of (a) fraud and (b) overpayment in respect of payments to (i) private sector contractors and (ii) public sector contractors for accommodation provided by the National Asylum Support Service in each year since its establishment. [106905]

Beverley Hughes

[holding answer 3 Apri1 2003]I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak, on 3 April 2003,Official Report, column 869W. The National Asylum Support Service (NASS) has no evidence of fraud on the part of its contracted accommodation providers. Any overpayments have been of a technical nature and the system is designed to correct any technical overpayments in subsequent months.