Benefit Fraud Investigations 2020-10-19
2020-10-19
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
▸
Context
The question stems from a concern about the adequacy of current measures to prevent and address benefit fraud, especially given the strain on welfare systems due to recent events.
What steps her Department is taking to review the effectiveness of benefit fraud investigations. In light of increasing cases like those involving innocent constituents suffering significant hardship due to fraudulent claims, what will the Government do to ensure that such families are protected and not unfairly penalised?
The hon. Lady's case should never have happened, and Ministers had to make difficult decisions regarding staff redeployment due to an unprecedented surge in claims during the pandemic. This led to a temporary reduction in counter-fraud efforts but more staff are now being redirected back to fraud detection and investigation.
▸
Assessment & feedback
The specific steps and timeline for reviewing and improving benefit fraud investigations were not explicitly detailed.
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
▸
Context
A constituent, a mother of three children, experienced significant financial hardship due to a fraudulent universal credit and housing benefit claim in her name. This highlights broader issues regarding the detection and handling of such cases.
A constituent of mine, a mother of three children, recently had her universal credit and housing benefit stopped for over two months because of a fraudulent claim made in her name. She was completely innocent but suffered significant financial hardship. We know that benefit fraud, especially in universal credit, is increasing; what will the Government do to stop innocent families from suffering unjustly due to such issues?
Ministers redeployed staff during the pandemic to process a surge in claims from 2.2 million to 5.7 million, temporarily reducing counter-fraud efforts but now more staff are being redirected back to fraud detection and investigation.
▸
Assessment & feedback
The specific actions or timeline for preventing future instances of innocent claimants suffering due to benefit fraud were not provided.
Response accuracy