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Benefits system gives a free-ride to fraudsters, says MP

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SOUTH NORFOLK MP Richard Bacon has called on the government to simplify the benefits system, or face continued losses of taxpayers' money to fraud.

Mr Bacon, a member of the Commons public accounts committee, was speaking as the committee's report into fraud and error in benefits expenditure was published. The report says current levels of benefit fraud are unlikely to be seriously reduced until the government simplifies the system. Benefit fraud and error cost the taxpayer around £3 billion per year.

Mr Bacon said: "The more complicated the benefits system, the easier it is for benefit cheats to hide from the authorities. At the moment fraudsters are having something of a free ride. Until the system is made easier to use, no government is likely to get the problem under control".

The report finds that the Department of Work and Pensions is working on estimates of fraud that are more than six years old. Officials were unable to locate 106 of 800 supporting records selected by the National Audit Office for checking, indicating problems with its basic record keeping.

Mr Bacon added: "Benefits will never be administered effectively if records cannot be found and the only information we have on the true scale of the problem is years out of date. All these issues need to be addressed if we are to cut these substantial losses".

11 October 2005

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