Written question asked by Peter L Pike (Labour), in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 12 March 1997. It was answered by Oliver Heald (Conservative) on Wednesday, 12 March 1997 on behalf of the Department of Social Security.

Dept of Social Security

Question: What assessment he has made of local initiatives to encourage the reporting of benefit fraud.

Answer: Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of local initiatives to encourage the reporting of benefit fraud. [17853] Mr. Heald: The Benefits Agency has run 42 "Spotlight on Benefit Cheats" local campaigns against benefit fraud. These have been given extensive local publicity, including encouraging claimants to call a freephone number to report suspicions of benefit fraud. A total of 14,000 referrals were received in the first phase of Spotlight alone, and the national benefit fraud hotline, launched last August, built on this success and to date received over 160,000 calls. The savings from the Spotlight campaigns now exceed £100 million.

Secondary information