The Government can today reveal that it has saved the taxpayer
over £1.3 billion from fraud and error in the past year, as it
sets out the latest version of its Fraud Plan.
It follows a crackdown on thousands of people fraudulently
claiming Universal Credit, including work by Department for Work
and Pensions (DWP) investigators and the Crown Prosecution
Service to smash Britain's biggest-ever
benefit fraud case – securing convictions for a £53.9 million
Universal Credit scam.
DWP are also planning to save £9 billion by 2028 in a sustained
crackdown on benefits cheats. From hiring 2,500 new staff to
check millions of Universal Credit claims for accuracy,
modernising information-gathering powers, to introducing a new
civil penalty to punish fraudsters, and investing £70 million
into advanced data analytics – these measures will mean those who
wish to exploit the natural compassion and generosity of the
British people will have nowhere to hide.
In addition, the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill
currently before Parliament will help the Department, working
with third parties such as banks, to identify claims that signal
potential fraud and error. This measure is expected to save the
taxpayer £600 million over five years, on top of the £9 billion
projected to be saved from the wider plan.
The news comes on the heels of the Prime Minister setting out
sweeping reforms of the welfare system last month, including a
new bill in the next Parliament to tackle benefit fraud head-on.
DWP will commit to introducing legislation meaning its
investigations mirror HMRC powers for tax, such as the ability to
make arrests and conduct searches and seizures by warrant, and
will also modernise information-gathering powers to help prove or
disprove fraud more quickly.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, , said:
“We are scaling up the fight against those stealing from the
taxpayer, building on our success in stopping £18 billion going
into the wrong hands in 2022-23.
“With new legal powers, better data and thousands of additional
staff, our comprehensive plan ensures we have the necessary tools
to tackle the scourge of benefit fraud.”
DWP have taken significant steps to crack down on fraud,
including legislating for new powers and hiring thousands of
staff to review Universal Credit claims for accuracy.
DWP is building on this by hiring over 2,500 external agents on a
temporary basis as part of the Targeted Case Review to help spot
incorrectness in Universal Credit claims. Combined with DWP's own
internal agents in the review, this will take the headcount to
nearly 6,000 people.
The DWP is also exploring a new civil penalty to punish
fraudsters, potentially broadening the scope of cases that can
receive a penalty when the courts are not prosecuting, and
increasing the value of the civil penalty.
On top of this, the DWP will also make changes to Universal
Credit including new partly automated checks on self-employed
income, new online prompts for claimants to re-declare their
circumstances (such as if they have moved in with a partner), and
increasing checks on capital when people claim the benefit to
ensure they are eligible.
These measures will be backed up by advanced data analytics,
using machine learning, to detect and prevent fraudulent claims.
Final decisions on accepting or stopping any claim will continue
to be made by a member of DWP staff.
The plan comes as fraud has become responsible for almost 40% of
all crime, with just over a quarter of respondents to the
2022 British Social
Attitudes Survey saying that it is either ‘Not Wrong' or only
‘A Bit Wrong' for an unemployed benefit claimant to not report
£3,000 from a casual job.
Ends.
Notes to Editors
- The full, updated Fighting Fraud in the Welfare
System document can be viewed online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fighting-fraud-in-the-welfare-system
- The DWP third party data measure, included in the current
Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, is a data sharing
power. It requires third parties such as banks to look provide
relevant information to DWP that may signal where DWP claimants
do not meet the eligibility criteria for the benefit they are
receiving.
- These measures will require third parties to provide only
limited, relevant information that may signal whether benefits
are being improperly paid. It does not give DWP access to
anyone's bank account or see how claimants are spending their
money.
- DWP aims to save £9 billion in the coming years from
dedicated counter-fraud activity, which builds on £18 billion
already saved in 2022/23 through, not only the Department's
dedicated counter-fraud activity, but also the controls in place
to prevent fraud and error.
