Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has recouped in Work Programme payments claimed fraudulently by providers since June 2011.

The Department treats any allegation of fraud by its contractors very seriously. Any fraud is completely unacceptable. Where we identify, or are notified of, allegations of provider fraud, these cases are investigated thoroughly by the Department’s professionally trained and experienced investigators to a standard required to support reference to the Police whenever evidence of criminal offences is discovered.

Since June 2011, the Department has investigated 37 allegations of fraud or irregularity by Work Programme providers. In only 3 cases has there been evidence of deliberate false representation by provider staff. All these cases were referred to the police and the amounts involved have been recovered in full or are in the process of being recovered.