§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the cost of theft and fraud to(a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies in 2002. [89891]
§ Malcolm WicksThe Department treats very seriously any instances of theft or fraud. In instances where a member of staff is proven to have committed fraud against the Department, disciplinary penalties, including dismissal, will be considered in addition to any criminal proceedings. The Department has put a number of measures in place to deter theft and fraud including working with property managers to make buildings more secure, internal fraud investigators actively operating in each government region, security specialists assessing internal security risk within a number of business units, awareness training for staff on internal security, a Whistleblowers hotline for staff to report instances of internal fraud, a portfolio of fact sheets on fraud and securty for staff and regular bulletins to middle managers on internal fraud matters.
608WThe following tables show the estimated cost of theft and fraud in Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies in the period April 2001 to March 2002. Information on non—departmental public bodies is not available:
Thefts in DWP, by Agency, April 2001 to March 2002 The approximate cost to the DWP of theft in 2001–02 Items Valued at £ Department (Corporate Directorates and Services) 1— 1— Jobcentre Plus2 58 55,475 Child Support Agency 14 13,037 Appeals Service 8 6,675 Health and Safety Executive 22 21,420 Non-Departmental Public Bodies 3— 3— Total 96,607 1 None reported 2 Including ex-BA and ex-ES 3 Not recorded by DWP
Internal Fraud in DWP, by Agency, April 2001 to March 2002 The approximate cost to the DWP of Internal Fraud in 2001–02 £ Department (Corporate Directorates and Services) 620.20 Ex-Benefits Agency 208,823.90 Ex-Employment Service 1,045,977.40 Child Support Agency 4,111.49 Appeals Service 203.51 Non-Departmental Public Bodies 1— Total 1,259,736.50 1 Not recorded by DWP External Benefit Fraud:
The Department estimates that approximately £2 billion is lost through benefit fraud.