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Written question asked by David Laws (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 9 January 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 11 January 2006. It was answered by James Plaskitt (Labour) on Monday, 6 February 2006 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Internal Fraud

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of internal fraud has been to (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in each year from 2000–01.
Answer

Details of estimated cost of internal fraud to the Department are presented in table 1.

Table 1: Cost of fraud (£)
Agency 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06(to December)
Jobcentre Plus 44,309 208,823 557,007 71,100 36,670 212,014
The Pension Service n/a n/a n/a 600 876 25,735
Child Support Agency 9,200 4,111 0 1,812 3,338 1,565
Disability and Carers service n/a n/a 0 40 11,913 7,875
Appeals Service 0 203 0 24 0 2,879
War Pensions Agency 3,583 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Employment Service 3,023 1,045,977 n/a n/a n/a n/a
Departmental Headquarters and Snared Directorates 14,019 620 8,595 0 60 8,467
Contractors n/a n/a n/a 765,526 559,959 324,129
Total 74,134 1,259,734 565,602 839,102 612,816 582,664
Source: This information has been compiled from annual returns detailing fraud losses.
(19) Year to date figures for 2005–06 are based on investigations completed since 31 March 2005.
(20) Jobcentre Plus—a new agency created in 2002 merging parts of the Benefits Agency and the Employment Service. Figures up to 2001–02 relate to losses within the Benefits Agency.
(21) War Pensions Agency transferred to the Ministry of Defence in 2002.
(22) Employment Service—figures to 2001–2002 include contractor fraud.

The Department has a robust approach to the detection, prevention and deterrence of internal and contractor fraud. This approach is consistent with Treasury guidance.The Department has a Fraud Response Plan and an Anti-Fraud Policy in place. Investigations into suspected internal or contractor-related frauds are conducted by a professional and dedicated team.In addition to investigations staff, there is a network of security advisers in place across the Department. Their role includes promoting internal security throughout businesses, reporting and initial investigation potential security incidents, and providing security awareness training to staff.The Department has a Whistleblowers Hotline to enable staff to report suspicions of internal fraud outside of management structures.The Department also has in place a comprehensive set of management checks and procedures to ensure that financial transactions are protected from the risk of internal fraud and abuse.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
41330; 442 c870W;442 c870W
Session
2005-06
Subjects
Costs Executive agencies Department for Work and Pensions Fraud Government departments
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk