A Great British Bake-Off star, a woman who altered tenancy documents to hide her living arrangements, a man who went swimming with dolphins, a woman on a fancy-dress charity walk and another who went zip lining.
This is not the start of a bad joke. Rather, it is a group of people and the activities they undertook while fraudulently claiming benefits.
While the offending varied, a single principle lay behind the prosecutions: to bring to book those who seek to exploit our social security system and ensure we provide a strong safety net for the most vulnerable.
It’s thanks to catching cases like these – and our other counter-fraud measures – that we cut fraud and error in the welfare system by 10% last year.
Tackling the issue head on is part of our plan to ensure the system is fair for everyone, meaning hard work always pays off, and benefits only go to those who need them.
That’s why, through a measure in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, we’re bringing in the most significant reform to benefit fraud laws in more than 20 years that will help ensure those who receive benefits are eligible.
I know this proposed new law has attracted a lot of attention in recent months, and I want to debunk some myths and misconceptions.
Firstly, let’s put straight the scaremongering from some: the measure does not allow anyone from DWP to monitor the bank accounts of benefit claimants.
Secondly, the DWP will not be able to check up on how claimants spend their money. It will allow third parties, like banks, to identify signs which suggest potential fraud and error.
They will then pass on minimal information for us to decide if it needs considering further, using the powers we already have.
Lastly, it’s important to stress that no automated decisions will be made off the back of this measure – a member of staff will always be involved in making benefit decisions.
While helping to stamp out fraud, this measure will help those who make genuine errors in their claim too, stopping them building up debts they would need to repay.
And a majority of the British public back the need for this. One recent survey showed almost two-thirds of people believe it’s acceptable to ask banks to share information about accounts where someone may be committing fraud.
That’s not surprising given this measure will save taxpayers up to £600 million over the next five years. It means more money to invest in public services and help for those who genuinely need it.
My message is very clear: these are reasonable and proportionate powers that will go a long way to tackling fraud and error in our benefit system and ensure fairness for hard-working taxpayers.
