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Dept of Health

Answer

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many individuals have been (a) arrested and (b) prosecuted for obtaining free treatment on the NHS to which they are not entitled in each year between 1997 and 2004, broken down by the reason for non- entitlement to treatment. [217436] Mr. Hutton :[holding answer 24 February 2005]: Between September 1999 and 2004, a total of 29 persons have been arrested for obtaining or seeking to obtain free national health service treatment to which they were not entitled. These arrests occurring in the following years; _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Number of arrests 1999 1 2000 1 2001 3 2002 3 2003 9 2004 12 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. During the same period 35 persons1 were successfully prosecuted for obtaining or seeking to obtain free NHS treatment to which they were not entitled. Prosecutions were broken down to the following reasons to non-entitlement in each year between 1999 and 2004. 1 The disparity between persons arrested (29) and persons prosecuted (35) is caused by the fact that an arrest is not always required to progress to criminal prosecution. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Use of false identity 1 1 -- 2 8 7 False claim of exemption -- -- -- -- 4 3 Use of stolen/altered -- -- 2 -- 4 3 prescription _________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

217436; 431 c908W;431 c904W

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Arrests Fraud NHS Prosecutions

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk