Anti-Fraud Minister, James Plaskitt, announced that there will be funding for a further 15 local authority pilot projects to test new technology to catch out benefit fraudsters.
He made the announcement to fund additional pilots and to extend the existing ones after initial results from seven pilots across 14 local authorities proved successful. Mr Plaskitt was visiting Harrow Council, which is one of the seven authorities which piloted the new Voice Risk Analysis (VRA) technology.
VRA technology spots changes in a caller's voice, enabling trained operators to decide whether a call is high or low risk and what further action to take. Initial results from the pilots have shown that the risk-ratings made using VRA have been successful. Of the cases rated as high risk, an estimated 30% identified a change that wouldnt have otherwise been known about.
The Minister also announced further funding of £1.5 million and invited local authorities to consider applying for support to run pilots of their own. Jobcentre Plus is also undertaking its own test activity. The evaluation results will be available at the end of August 2008.
Information Notes
Citizens Advice expressed concerns that some of the most vulnerable people in society could end up facing homelessness if the Government presses ahead with plans to cut Housing Benefit entitlement.
If the cuts go ahead, it will only be possible to backdate Housing Benefit claims by three months instead of the current one year 'with good cause'. Similar proposals were ditched in 2000 following widespread protests and a highly critical report from Parliament's own Social Security Advisory Committee.
The Charity says the proposed cuts are completely at odds with the Government's efforts to prevent homelessness and the cost-cutting measure will actually be a much greater strain on the public purse, since most of those receiving Housing Benefit are council or housing association tenants - and these bodies are likely to see their bad debt rise and Council Tax take reduce as a result of the change. The costs of homelessness will also vastly exceed the value of any savings made from cutting Benefit backdating.
Citizens Advice warns that being able to backdate housing benefit up to 12 months is vital to prevent eviction and homelessness - by enabling tenants to pay off rent arrears which are often caused in the first place by problems with a Housing Benefit claim. Because claimants must show 'good cause' for not having made their claim earlier, backdating is targeted only on the most vulnerable claimants who most need personal support to help them cope, for example those with serious mental health problems.
Being able to backdate benefit for up to a year is also a valuable tool in increasing Housing Benefit take up, which official estimates put at only 50% for people in work who are eligible. It ensures that people get money they were always entitled to, but whose vulnerability prevented them making a claim earlier.
