10 March 2005 - Local fraud investigators may get new powers
The drive to crack down on benefit fraud moves to another phase today with Government proposals to allow local authority investigators to tackle fraud in ‘national’ as well as local benefits, such as Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
So far there has been a 25 per cent reduction in the average value of detected overpayments. And there has also been a 45 per cent increase in the number of benefit fraud sanctions and prosecutions carried out by local authorities. These and other measures have resulted in a £60 million cut in fraud and error in Housing Benefit.
Local authorities are currently prevented from tackling fraud in the benefits that DWP administer even when their entitlement to one benefit acts as a passport to the other. This means that local authorities are hampered from investigating the full extent of fraud in a case even when they have gathered the evidence that would allow them to do so.
The plans outlined in the consultation would provide local authorities with powers to investigate and prosecute offences against DWP administered benefits. This will add an extra weapon in the fight against fraud at a time that joint working with local authorities has delivered record numbers of sanctions and prosecutions.
Investigators would only be able to use the powers on the condition that there are implications for the investigation of Housing Benefit fraud. There would also be rigorous safeguards to protect the public from improper use of the powers.
The proposed changes include:
- Powers for local authority investigators to obtain evidence from third parties that relates to national benefit fraud.
- Allowing local authorities to obtain and share information about national benefit fraud.
Anti-fraud minister Chris Pond said: “These proposals will allow local authorities to investigate and prosecute benefit fraud more efficiently and effectively. They are part of our joint approach to improve the way we work together, cutting red tape and improving efficiency. We are continuing to provide local authorities with the tools to crack down on benefit fraud by replacing the annual renewal claim system with more effective risk based reviews. Our expansion of electronic data-matching is also helping local authorities to detect fraud and error sooner."
The local authority community, legal groups and the general public are all invited to have their say on the proposals. The consultation period closes on 10th June 2005.
Notes for editors
- The full consultation document appears on this web site. These proposed changes to legislation are intended to be implemented by way of a Regulatory Reform Order. The Regulatory Reform Act 2001 gave Ministers the power to use such Orders to reform primary legislation that imposes regulatory burdens, subject to consultation and Parliamentary scrutiny.
- The power to prosecute national benefit fraud applies in England and Wales only because the Procurator Fiscal is responsible for the prosecutions of all criminal offences in Scotland.
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