Trivial punishment for benefit fraud

Bolsover District Council announce that they and the DWP have successfully prosecuted a local Shirebrook man who was overallowed nearly £2,300 in benefits.

Adrian Ratcliffe from Shirebrook, Mansfield pleaded guilty at Chesterfield Magistrates Court to failing to declare he was working as a doorman for Level 1 Security between July 2008 to March 2009. Mr Ratcliffe received Jobseekers Allowance and Council Tax Benefit totalling £2,297 during this period to which he was not entitled.

He was fined a piffling £166, with an additional £100 costs and a £15 victim surcharge and has repaid the overpayments to the Departments. It's almost as if magistrates want to give benefit thieves as small a sentence as possible.

In contrast with this a Council spokesperson grandstanded:

This is a blatant case of benefit fraud and one that we will not tolerate. The defendant had every opportunity to tell us he was working, but did not, so we had no choice but to take court action which was successful. This should serve as a warning to others that we will find out and we will take action if you are involved in fraud and claiming benefits you are not entitled to.

Well, the so called punishment doesn't suggest that the magistrates considered the crime blatant at all - rather almost that they would have preferred not to be troubled.