Crackdown on benefit fiddlers

A HARD-HITTING approach to tackle benefit cheats is being piloted in Oldham.

The Department for Works and Pensions, HMRC and council investigators will join together to focus on cracking down on welfare benefit and tax-credit fraud.

The move reflects the Government’s commitment to a fairer welfare state that supports those who want to work hard and get on.

The new approach enables a single investigator to probe fraud across the full range of welfare benefits and tax credit meaning more investigators can tackle more fraud on a more consistent basis.

This more focused approach to catching benefit fraudsters will be delivered locally by DWP’s Fraud and Error Service and will offer the taxpayer greater value for money in the long term.

Minister for Welfare Reform, David Freud, said: “Reducing benefit fraud and error in the system is a crucial plank of our welfare reforms to make work pay and the system fairer for everyone.

“By bringing teams from local authorities and HMRC into our investigation service we will be able to build on the hard work we’ve already done to crack down on benefit fraud. Alongside this change, Universal Credit is expected to reduce losses due to fraud by £1billion in five years when it is fully in place across the country.”

The new service went live in Oldham, Corby, Cornwall, Cardiff, Southampton, Hillingdon, Wrexham, Blaenau Gwent and East Ayrshire last week ahead of its national phased implementation which will start in the autumn.