Data matching nabs £19k benefit thief - but hardly any punishment

A 61-year-old Minster woman has been given a curfew order after pleading guilty to benefit fraud.

Daphne Tanner claimed almost £20,000 worth of benefits she was not entitled to, of which just under £14,000 was income support.

On November 8, Tanner was sentenced at Maidstone Magistrates' Court for two offences of making false representations against the Department for Work and Pensions, as well as four offences of making false claims to Swale Council.

The court heard how Tanner made a total of six false representations when she failed to declare on the benefit claim form that she had received income from her widow's pension. The fraud was established on July 13 this year when it was identified through a monthly data match against other Government agency computer records.

In total, she fraudulently received housing benefit of £4,232.19, council tax benefit of £1,316.76 and income support worth £13,828.10.

Tanner was handed a curfew order between the hours 7pm and 7am. It will be relaxed for Christmas Day when she can remain out until 9pm.

Investigation team leader Janice Watts said: "We share a collective commitment to tackling all welfare benefit fraud."

• This "collective commitment" doesn't seem to extend to the judiciary, though.
  
  Benefit thieves do it for the money. They should know they will have to pay back twice what they stole, and that they will get no benefits until they have. A confiscation order should be made immediately.
  
  Any benefit thieves who don't go to prison should also have to do community service.