However, an anonymous commenter here uses the facility to say
Please at least read the government's documents properly and not just the headlines. There's been no jump in the figures, just inaccurate reporting.I had reported that "the coalition government says welfare fraud costs £5.2 billion pounds a year".
Well I am pretty sure I heard George Osborne say that in his Commons speech. Now, where might he have got that from?
In the DWP document which I referenced in the post, the Ministerial Foreword states that
This document sets out a radical new approach for addressing welfare fraud, which now costs the taxpayer £5.2 billion pounds every year, or £165 every second.Take your indignation to Lord Freud and David Gauke, then.
3 comments:
£5.2 billion is at the lower end of the range. Have you added in the £2 billion or £3 billion overpaid Tax Credits every year?
There are 2 types of overpayment, those that are to be paid back and those who are prosecuted so the "error" isn't an error by the staff dealing with it but an error by the claimant. Usually failure to notify a change in circustances. The case your blog highlights are the more blantant claims which result in prosecution.
Errors made by staff are official errors and are non-recoverable.
Shame on you, John; you know that they conflate fraud and error. I take my indignation to both you and this vile government.
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