10/08/2010

Credit Rating Agencies To 'Root Out' Benefits Cheats

Prime Minister David Cameron has unveiled plans for credit ratings firms to be used to identify benefits fraudsters.

Mr Cameron announced the plans, which are aimed at cutting fraudulent claim amounting to £1.5 billion a year, in a speech in Manchester.

The Prime Minister said that he wanted the introduction of "more modern and new methods" to help tackle benefit fraud, which would include using credit agencies to help identify those making fraudulent claims.

He also said that Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith would report in the autumn on the best ways to reduce fraud and error in the benefits system, as part of the government's overall spending cuts.

Writing in the Manchester Evening News earlier, the Prime Minister had said: "Welfare and tax credit fraud and error costs the taxpayer £5.2 billion a year. That's the cost of more than 200 secondary schools or over 150,000 nurses."

He also said that a simplified benefits system, which is being developed by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, would help to reduce the current annual bill of £1.6 billion for administrative errors.

(KMcA/GK)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

17 December 2004
Benefits fraud cut by over one billion pounds
Benefits fraud has been slashed by half, saving over £1 billion according to Government statistics published today. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) reported exceeding a target to cut fraud and error in the main benefits by one third by March 2004.
25 November 2014
Universal Credit To Be Extended To Families
Universal Credit (UC) is to be extended to families for the first time, it has been announced. UC is described as the government's "flagship" welfare reform programme, and prior to this was only available to single people and couples.
18 May 2012
Generous Parents Hurting Grown-Up Children's Credit Rating
Free credit report service Noddle has warned that parents are inadvertently placing their adult children at a financial disadvantage by taking out credit and paying essential bills on their behalf.
01 February 2011
New Rights To Benefit Consumers
Consumers should take advantage of new rights aimed at protecting them and encouraging lenders to act more responsibly, Consumer Minister Edward Davey said today as the EU Consumer Credit Directive came into force.
24 September 2004
Study shows benefits of bank account benefits
Independent research published today shows that 90% of people prefer having benefits put directly into a bank account, according to a Downing Street spokesperson. The Direct Payment system is now on track to reach 85% of pensioners, mothers, carers and jobseekers by April 2005.