The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has released a statement to clear up confusion following remarks made by a high-ranking official regarding the use of “other intelligence” to monitor claimants suspected of benefit fraud. Neil Couling, the senior responsible owner for Universal Credit, made the comments while he and other DWP leaders were being questioned by the Work and Pensions Committee, as new measures come in to combat benefit fraud.
Under the new regulations, investigators will have the authority to directly withdraw funds from an individual’s bank account to reclaim incorrect payments, and benefit fraudsters could lose their driving licence. During the session, MP Johanna Baxter enquired about the “safeguards” in place to protect vulnerable claimants from having their benefits suspended if they are thought to be wrongly receiving payments.
Mr Couling assured that the standard approach for those considered vulnerable is to avoid suspending payments before making contact to evaluate their situation. Nevertheless, he noted that there are instances where they suspect a person is intentionally evading contact, such as when a person is out of the country, and they will halt their benefits. Mr Couling clarified: “In those sort of cases, we would suspend the case and invite them to contact us about that issue.”
Ms Baxter pressed for more information on how the DWP determines when a benefit claimant is abroad. Mr Couling replied: “We might have other intelligence, which I don’t want to go into in open session. We receive information from various places in the course of investigations.”
When asked to elaborate on the type of information Mr Couling was referring to, the DWP stated: “We will not tolerate the unacceptable level of fraud in the welfare system. New measures in our Fraud, Error, and Recovery Bill will ensure taxpayers have confidence that welfare spending goes to support those who really need it, not people who seek to exploit it – saving the taxpayer £1.5 billion over the next five years.
“As with any other type of fraud, we robustly investigate any evidence that a customer might be claiming or receiving a benefit inappropriately from abroad.” During the meeting, DWP officials also set out their plans to intensify anti-fraud efforts, by collaborating more with the Home Office to monitor border records.
They said this will help identify claimants entering and leaving the UK in breach of benefit rules. Furthermore, the DWP will improve its ability to verify claimants’ details as HMRC records become more digital, providing better access to tax records.
Damien Egan, MP for Bristol North East, has raised concerns about the growing problem of benefit fraud, after a visit to his local job centre. Work coaches who had been there many years told him that they had never seen the situation so dire.
Mr Egan expressed his shock at the ease with which people were fraudulently receiving health benefits, saying: “I was surprised to hear that people were getting money for health benefits even when it might just say ‘no can work’. Then it would take months and months and months before work capability kicked in, and then there was a repeat pattern when these people were found fit for work, and then would come back into the system with something else. It wasn’t being checked.”
The worried politician also pointed out how fraudsters exploit the self-employed expenses system, which could potentially add £10,000 a year to someone’s payments. He finished his comments with a terse warning: “The system isn’t checking it. It’s just too easy.”
Included in the package of new measures is an ‘Eligibility Verification’ check. This will allow banks to share data with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to help identify incorrect or fraudulent payments.
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall explained how this will work: “Our new eligibility verification measure will enable us to require banks or other financial institutions to provide crucial data to help identify incorrect benefit payments people might be getting, including fraudulently, such as if someone has too much in savings, making them ineligible for a benefit, or if they are fraudulently claiming benefits abroad when they should be living in the UK.”