Yes indeed, all parties have tried to cut benefit fraud and I think we all agree that all fraud is serious and should be stopped.
But why are our genuine disabled and vulnerable people being targeted?
What are these savage cuts & reforms really trying to achieve?
Are these cuts going to save money or make a difference to the recovery of the economy?
Let's see.
The cost of benefit fraud=Total Cost £27Million.
The estimated level of benefit fraud has reduced from £60.9 million back in 2001. It is estimated that in 2012, £16.9 million of public money was lost through benefit fraud. This figure is made up of:
•£2.5m - Income Support
•£3.2m - Jobseeker's Allowance
•£2.5m - State Pension Credit
•£4.8m - Incapacity Benefit
•£2.1m - Employment and Support Allowance
•£1.5m - Carer's Allowance
•£0.4m - Instrument of Payment (cheque) fraud
Cost £17Million
It is also estimated that a further £10m was lost through Housing Benefit fraud.
Figures from Government source below:-
http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/the-cost-of-benefit-fraud
Cost of cuts & reforms
Universal Credit
The existing IT strategy is being delivered by Accenture, BT, HP and IBM. There's a £2.4 billion UC implementation budget up to April 2023. Some £425 million of that had been spent up to April 2013 with £303 million of it going on IT.
But a total of £40.1 million has so far been written off. That's roughly a fifth more than the £34 million that the DWP previously admitted to back in September.
Mike Driver, finance director general at DWP, said that the National Audit Office (NAO) had signed off the DWP accounts to include an intangible asset of £152 million, made up of £125 million of software code and £27 million of licences, with £34 million of this to be used on the revised 'digital' version.
The remaining IT assets of £91 million will be written off over a five-year period, as opposed to the 15-year period that the department had originally planned.
That means that the software will have no asset value by 2018, a year after Universal Credit is currently scheduled to be fully live.
http://diginomica.com/2013/12/10/married-government-cope-it/
I could go on about other benefit cuts, such as under occupancy, Independent Living Fund, Out-of-work disability benefits, Extra-costs disability benefits, Disabled Child Benefit cuts, Disability treatment clinics and care centres closed, the list is endless.
Why are those that commit Tax fraud not being persecuted with the same severity?
Why aren't MP's who commit fraud not being persecuted with the same severity?
Why aren't those taking advantage of the immoral but legal loopholes having these damaging loopholes plugged?
•An estimated 31,100 excess winter deaths occurred in England and Wales in 2012/13 - a 29% increase compared with the previous winter.
More are expected this winter.
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-health2/excess-winter-mortality-in-england-and-wales/2012-13--provisional--and-2011-12--final-/stb-ewm-12-13.html
And it only going to get worse with Ids declaring more welfare cuts to come.
"My New Year's Resolution, is to try and emulate Marek's level of chilled out, thoughtfulness and humour towards other forumites and not lose my decorum"
