Wednesday 19 November 2008

What is the Council doing about Benefit Fraud?

In January 2003 Council Members approved a strategy for tackling the problem of benefit fraud which is attached below. The strategy sets out the Council’s commitment to stamping out benefit fraud and includes a number of measures to achieve this, such as:

Working in partnership

Working in partnership with other organisations such as the Department for Work and Pensions, Police, Inland Revenue etc to target the benefit cheats.  For more information please visit the Department of Work & Pensions targeting fraud website at www.targetingfraud.gov.uk

Data Matching initiatives

Matching Council records against those held by other organisations to identify discrepancies in information.

Verification Framework

In October 2001 the Council adopted the verification framework. The framework sets out the minimum level of information and evidence that must be collected before a benefit claim is put in to payment. It includes a programme of home visits to check information that has been provided in support of a benefit claim.  It aims to:
  • ensure benefits are paid to those in genuine need of help
  • tackle any fraud or error entering the benefit system
  • carry out on-going checks in respect of Housing Benefit (HB) and Council Tax Benefit (CTB) claims
  • get value for Taxpayers' money
It is a requirement of VF that people in receipt of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit are periodically sent an intervention form or visited in their homes to:
  • confirm residency, confirm identity
  • verify information provided on their claim form and provide evidence in support of the claim
  • confirm on-going entitlement to HB and/or CTB
  • record and adjust for any changes in circumstances which may have occurred
LAs are required to collect evidence before determining a claim under Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Regultions.
  • It is a specific requirement of the legislation that LAs only seek evidence that is reasonable.  The Data Protection Act requires that all the information or evidence collected by the LA for a benefit claim must be adequate, relevant to that claim and not excessive.
The type of information required is the same aswhen making a claim for Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit and includes:  evidence of identity, proof of capital, savings and investments, proof of earnings or other income including benefit, proof of private rent and tenancy, and proof of other money paid out.
For the purposes of the Verification Framework only original documents can be accepted.

Housing & Council Tax Benefit Anti-Fraud Strategy (PDF 62Kb)

Prosecution/Sanctions

The Council has a prosecution policy and will consider prosecuting people found to have committed benefit fraud. In some cases, as an alternative to prosecution, the Council will consider administering a penalty fine or formal caution.