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Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Volume 477: debated on Tuesday 17 June 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in each London borough were (a) prosecuted for and (b) convicted of benefit fraud offences in each of the last five years; and what the cost of pursuing such prosecutions was. (210269)

Information regarding DWP-administered benefits is not available below national and regional level.

The available information regarding the local authority administered benefits, housing benefit and council tax benefit, is in the following tables.

Total number of cases accepted for prosecution

Local authority

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Barking

0

1

15

11

9

Barnet

14

30

26

27

21

Bexley

24

31

23

31

26

Brent

10

15

36

54

30

Bromley

4

18

30

35

34

Camden

1

9

5

22

2

City of London

1

0

0

0

0

Croydon

8

39

20

17

33

Ealing

27

41

34

41

15

Enfield

0

9

62

75

30

Greenwich

17

31

48

68

39

Hackney

5

0

35

14

20

Hammersmith and Fulham

13

40

39

50

33

Haringey

12

11

38

19

4

Harrow

2

3

16

20

32

Havering

6

13

14

18

23

Hillingdon

15

34

13

9

15

Hounslow

13

13

10

18

21

Islington

15

14

18

19

n/a

Kensington and Chelsea

0

15

12

36

n/a

Kingston upon Thames

0

6

5

9

2

Lambeth

0

47

22

49

61

Lewisham

17

29

42

79

n/a

Merton

0

2

3

5

7

Newham

19

56

32

12

10

Redbridge

62

32

35

52

15

Richmond upon Thames

4

4

1

3

13

Southwark

17

38

31

39

50

Sutton

20

13

14

16

8

Tower Hamlets

2

2

5

14

34

Waltham Forest

7

17

29

45

16

Wandsworth

18

15

13

19

12

Westminster

17

24

23

18

n/a

Total number of guilty verdicts obtained

Local authority

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Barking

0

1

7

3

12

Barnet

11

18

18

27

26

Bexley

22

19

15

26

22

Brent

9

14

13

43

26

Bromley

3

10

14

21

32

Camden

2

9

4

15

7

City of London

1

0

0

0

0

Croydon

7

17

16

13

19

Ealing

18

36

25

30

37

Enfield

0

6

54

55

40

Greenwich

23

27

45

59

36

Hackney

3

0

12

6

37

Hammersmith and Fulham

20

21

37

32

46

Haringey

10

11

24

25

10

Harrow

1

0

7

15

26

Havering

1

10

15

10

20

Hillingdon

15

34

13

9

15

Hounslow

9

11

9

6

15

Islington

14

11

6

17

n/a

Kensington and Chelsea

0

8

7

23

25

Kingston upon Thames

0

3

6

5

3

Lambeth

0

13

31

39

28

Lewisham

16

18

35

46

n/a

Merton

0

2

3

3

9

Newham

11

37

29

23

n/a

Redbridge

38

35

26

35

26

Richmond upon Thames

2

1

2

3

13

Southwark

8

22

28

30

49

Sutton

15

10

12

10

11

Tower Hamlets

1

1

2

13

26

Waltham Forest

4

12

24

30

17

Wandsworth

17

14

11

10

17

Westminster

13

14

15

14

n/a

n/a = data not available

Note:

Data on costs in pursuing these prosecutions is not available.

Source:

Estimates are based on Stats 124 administrative data returns.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Benefit Fraud Hotline and associated services cost in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. (206007)

The available information is in the following table.

National benefit fraud hotline costs

£

2002-03

876,000

2003-04

935,000

2004-05

1,136,000

2005-06

1,213,000

2006-07

1,350,000

Notes:

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000.

2. The costs above are for the national benefit fraud hotline (NBFHL) and related services. These are in nominal terms.

3. The costs for 2005-06 and 2006-07 are the same as the costs used in a recent NAO report on the benefit fraud hotline.

4. At the start of 2005-06, Jobcentre Plus implemented a new accounting system for recording any costs from 2005-06 onwards. The costs for 2004-05 and prior years have therefore been extracted using archived data sources from a closed accounting system.

5. The costs above include staff and non staff costs. Non staff costs primarily include telephony related costs.

6. The national benefit fraud hotline was transferred to the contact centre directorate in 2005-06. The reported costs will therefore include the effect of any re-organisation to NBFHL over the last five reported years.

Source:

National benefit fraud hotline.