Written question asked by Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour) on Monday, 15 June 1998, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 25 June 1998. It was answered by Lord Field of Birkenhead (Labour) on Thursday, 25 June 1998 on behalf of the Department of Social Security.

Dept of Social Security

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what is her estimate of the number of asylum applications where documents supplied as a result of rejected applications were used for the purposes of fraudulent benefit claims in the last two years.

Answer: Mr. Campbell-Savours: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is her estimate of the number of asylum applications where documents supplied as a result of rejected applications were used for the purposes of fraudulent benefit claims in the last two years. [46415] Mr. Field: The Government have not estimated the number of asylum applications where documents supplied as a result of rejected applications are used for the purposes of fraudulent benefit claims. The Select Committee on Social Security under the previous administration identified a number of concerns about the way asylum applications were handled. The Government are taking action to improve the security of the way numbers are issued and maintained. This work is at an early stage, and the initial results will determine the action necessary to tighten up the security of national insurance numbers, including action specifically surrounding asylum applications.

Secondary information