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Dept for Work and Pensions

Answer

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the rate of staff turnover in each of the last three years in (a) benefit fraud inspection work and (b) his Department as a whole. [74847] Malcolm Wicks: The overall aim of the Department's anti-fraud strategy is to have a benefit system which is secure from first claim to final payment. The implementation of this strategy means that an anti- fraud focus is integral to the work of all staff in the Department, as is dealing with the wider agenda of error and incorrectness in benefit payments. The information currently available suggests that, throughout the period, around 5,000 staff have been employed by the Department and its agencies in work to investigate suspicions of fraud. However, on examination, it is clear that data on the number of staff is not consistent as data collection measures have changed over time and as the deployment of investigators has become more fully integrated with front line staff. I have concluded that it is not possible to make valid compariaons between the figures year-on year. I've therefore asked the Department to undertake a review to improve the consistency of centrally collected information for the future. The following table provides information available on the total numbers of permanent staff and numbers of leavers in the last three years, for the areas that now come under the Department of Work and Pensions. _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Year (1 April to 31 March) Permanent Staff Leavers 1999-2000 118,926 Insufficient data held 2000-2001 126,942 9,642 2001-2002 134,247 5,692 _________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

74847; 392 c661W;392 c675W

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Abuse Department for Work and Pensions Fraud Inspections Staff Social security benefits Labour turnover

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

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