News / Politics
Council: ?1.76m lost to benefit fraud
More than £1.75 million was lost to benefit fraud in Bristol last year, council figures show.
An annual report shows that £1.76m was incorrectly claimed, a slight fall from the previous two years.
Councillors on the Audit Committee will discuss the figures on Friday June 26.
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Liberal Democrat Gary Hopkins, who sits on the committee, said people committing fraud need to understand the consequences. He also added that the figures hide the amount of benefits which go unclaimed, due to lack of communication.
The report by the council’s benefit fraud team showed that 130 people were either prosecuted or sanctioned. Three were imprisoned, 13 were handed suspended prison sentences, 14 had curfew orders placed on them, 36 were given community work and a range of fines were applied.
In 2013-14 the total amount lost to benefit fraud was £1.77m and in 2013-14 £1.96m. However, more than the £1.3m incorrectly claimed in 2011-12.
Hopkins, leader of the Lib Dem councillors, said that the council needs to do more to ensure that the public know about what they are and aren’t entitled to. “If there’s no reputation that checking is being done, fraud would be getting out of control,” he said.
“Something that concerns me at the moment from my casework inbox is the lack of advice that sometimes people who are inexperienced in the system are getting. Some of the claims are quite complicated to make.
“In some cases people in Bristol are missing out on benefits because the level of help isn’t there. I think there are more errors occurring than there would otherwise be. I’ve had two or three cases in the last week or so when people have got into situations [in which they haven’t been receiving the benefits they’re entitled to].”
The investigation of housing benefit fraud is due to be transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Nationally, it has been estimated that 0.8 per cent, or £1.2 billion, of total benefit expenditure is overpaid each year due to fraud. A poll by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has revealed that the public believe 27 per cent of the social security budget is claimed fraudulently, however.
The figures compare with an estimated £85 bn per year lost to tax evasion.