Social Security Benefits

(asked on 18th January 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what resources his Department has committed to (a) ensuring that unclaimed benefits are claimed and (b) investigating false and fraudulent claims for benefits in each of the last three years.


Answered by
Kit Malthouse Portrait
Kit Malthouse
This question was answered on 23rd January 2018

We are unable to identify all those who are eligible and have not claimed benefits, however, Information on what benefits are available and how to claim is available online at gov.uk and through a range of third sector organisations such as Citizens Advice Bureau.

The Counter Fraud & Compliance Directorate (CFCD), part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for the prevention, detection and where appropriate, investigation of fraud and error against all benefits administered by and on behalf of DWP.

The operational arm of CFCD which investigates false and fraudulent benefit (formerly known as the Fraud and Error Service) comprised the following resources for the period 2014/15 to 2016/17:

2014/15: Full Time Equivalent staffing totalled 4,833 at a cost of £145m

2015/16: Full Time Equivalent staffing totalled 4,898 at a cost of £155m

2016/17: Full Time Equivalent staffing totalled 4,293 at a cost of £160m

This includes staff engaged in the full range of fraud work, including telephone and letter based interventions, fraud investigation and compliance work and at its most extreme, serious, complex and organised fraud.

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