7-04-04

Government losing war on benefit fraud – Barrett

John Barrett, Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West, today called on the Government to rethink its strategy on tackling benefit fraud after new figures showed the cost of fraud and error in key benefits stands at almost £2 billion.

The report from the Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) shows that fraud and error recorded in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance and Housing Benefit stands at £1.09 billion across the UK and increased to £113 million in Scotland alone.  UK fraud and error in Housing Benefit now stands at £750 million a year.

Commenting, John Barrett said:

"Year after year, the Government promises to get tough of benefit fraud.  However, these figures show that the war on fraud is far from being won and is now costing the country almost £2 billion every year.

"If this is not bad enough, the detail of the report shows that the amount of money wasted, simply because of mistakes by the DWP in processing claims, stands at £350 million and on the rise.

"These figures should convince the Government that tough words are simply not enough.  What we need is effective action, not just in tackling those trying to cheat the system but action to reduce the basic incompetence in the DWP that costs the country so much money."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

• The Department for Work and Pensions have released the report "Fraud and Error in Claims for Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance from April 2001 to March 2002". It provides an update on the last set of figures which covered the period October 2000 to September 2001. The latest figures reveal that fraud and error in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance stands at £1.15 billion, up on the last set up figures when it stood at £1.14 billion.