12 February 2004 - Crackdown on benefit fraud is paying off for taxpayers
Tough action against benefit crooks is paying. Official statistics released today show that the campaign against fraud and error has already saved £400 million for the taxpayer.
The latest annual figures for the main two benefits, Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance, show the Government is well on course to slash fraud and error by half by 2006.
The DWP has already exceeded its initial target of cutting fraud and error by a quarter by April 2004 – the reduction is now 29 per cent.
Overpayments in 2002/03 were £400 million less than they would have been if fraud and error had stayed at the same level as the baseline year of 1997/98.
Anti-Fraud Minister Chris Pond said: “The determined crackdown on fraud and error is paying off – and that’s good news for taxpayers.
“Money stolen by benefit cheats could be spent on other services like hospitals and schools, so fraud is never a victimless crime.
“We must continue to work hard to achieve our targets but the results of our action over the last few years have been very encouraging.
“Benefit fraud investigators now have more powers than ever to tackle and punish benefit fraud and the ongoing campaign to deter fraudsters is showing results. Our efforts both to prevent fraud and detect it when it happens are paying off for the taxpayer.
“We have reorganised the way our staff tackle benefit fraud, providing a more professional and intelligence-driven fraud investigation service. Last year in partnership with local councils we imposed over 32,000 prosecutions and sanctions, more punishments for fraudsters than ever before.
“And we are closing off opportunities for fraud and actively using new powers. In 2002/03 cross-checking of information uncovered £46 million in overpayments.
“But we can’t do it alone. I urge the public to help by tipping us off if they suspect benefit fraud by calling the Benefit Fraud Hotline on 0800 854440. Calls are already pouring into the Hotline, with 14,202 calls received in December last year alone.”
Notes for editors
- Around £2 billion is lost every year to benefit fraud across all benefits.
- The National Benefit Fraud Hotline number is 0800 854440.
- The latest progress against the Department for Work and Pensions Public Service Agreement targets on fraud and error are published as Official National Statistics today.
- The Department for Work and Pensions has Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets to reduce fraud and error in Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance by 10 per cent by March 2002, by 25 per cent by March 2004 and by 50 per cent by March 2006. The PSA figures are constructed from a combination of surveys. The Chancellor raised the March 2004 target to 33 per cent for working age fraud and error in his spending review.
- The baseline from which progress is measured is the level over the 12 months from October 1997 to September 1998 published in a Government Statistical Service report in October 1999.
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