Social Security Benefits: Fraud

(asked on 30th March 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Government efficiency savings: technical note, 2021, published on 28 March 2022, what the variety of counter fraud techniques used to prevent or detect fraud were including (a) the programme and project the savings apply to, (b) the amount of savings that relate to each programme and project and (c) the period during which the savings were made for each programme and project.


Answered by
David Rutley Portrait
David Rutley
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 19th April 2022

DWP takes all types of benefit fraud extremely seriously and is committed to the detection and prevention of both fraud and claimant error, along with the use of appropriate penalties where fraud is identified.

I am unable to share details of the variety of counter fraud techniques used by DWP to prevent or detect fraud, as to do so would be prejudicial to our work in this area. The DWP savings cited in the technical note published by Cabinet Office on 28 March 2022, cover the 2020/21 financial year. The savings of £1.1bn relate to the work of DWP’s Enhanced Checking Service (ECS) part of our Counter Fraud, Compliance and Debt Directorate.

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