Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time is between a parent with care requesting a Financial Investigation Unit referral and the referral being actioned; and how the Department monitors compliance with internal timeframes.

Data on the average time from a parent initiating a referral request to the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) and that referral being actioned are not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

All cases which are accepted by the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) for investigation are assessed, and appropriate evidence obtained to fully inform the course of FIU action. The length of time required to complete the FIU action will depend on the complexity of fraud. Criminal cases of course can take much longer, due to their complexity.