Tackling Benefits Fraud

We aim to make sure that those people entitled to benefit receive their correct entitlement, but we also have an obligation to prevent abuse of the system by those who claim benefit falsely.

The Government estimates that around £2 billion per year goes to benefit cheats.

This is equivalent to £80 a year from each family in Great Britain.

We are committed to tackling benefit fraud.  We know that most claimants are honest but we have a responsibility to tackle those who are not.  We are taking positive action to:

• make it harder to commit benefit fraud
• detect more benefit fraud
• stop those who might be thinking of committing benefit fraud, and
• encourage people to report those who are committing benefit fraud.

How are we tackling benefits fraud?

We have imposed sricter controls when claims are made help in the prevention of fraud.  For example, customers must produce evidence about their identity, income and savings before benefit is paid.

Where benefit is in payment, reviews are carried out to check entitlement during the course of a claim.

We have improved our methods for gathering and using intelligence to catch more fraudsters.

A range of actions are available as a punishment for committing benefit fraud.  They are:

• Local Authority Caution - This is an official warning provided as an alternative to prosecution.  If another benefit offence is committed and a prosecution takes place, the fact that a Caution has been given will be taken into account by the Courts.
• Administrative Penalty - This is similar to a fine and is calculated as 30% of any benefit overpaid.  It is paid in addition to repaying the overpayment.
• Prosecution - These can be heard at magistrates or Crown Court with sentences up to 10 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

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