§ Paul HolmesTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff are responsible for detection of benefit fraud, broken down by region; what change has been made in the level of such staff in the last six months, broken down by region; on what basis the decision was made to change staff levels; and if he will make a statement. [123041]
§ Mr. PondThe overall aim of the Department's antifraud strategy is to have a benefit system which is secure from first claim to final payment. The implementation of this strategy means than an anti-fraud focus is integral to the work of all staff in the Department, as is dealing with the wider agenda of error and incorrectness in benefit payments.
The information currently available suggests that around 5,000 staff are employed at any one time by the Department and its agencies in work to investigate suspicions of fraud. Information on changes made in the level of such staff in the last six months is not available