Cameron to target benefit cheats

An “uncompromising” crackdown on benefit cheats will be unveiled in the autumn, British Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged.

Mr Cameron said reducing the £5.2 billion annual cost of fraud and error would be the “first and deepest” cut in public spending.

Writing in the Manchester Evening News ahead of his latest public question and answer session, he said credit rating agencies could be recruited to help identify false claims.

Tougher penalties, more prosecutions, measures to encourage others to shop cheats and greater efforts to recover “stolen” payments would also be included, he indicated.

Mr Cameron wrote: “At a time when we’re having to take such difficult decisions about how to cut back without damaging the things that matter the most, we should strain every sinew to cut error, waste and fraud in our welfare system.

“Welfare and tax credit fraud and error costs the taxpayer £5.2 billion a year. That’s the cost of more than 200 secondary schools or over 150,000 nurses. It’s absolutely outrageous and we cannot stand for it.” He said a simplified benefits system being developed by Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith would help reduce the £1.6 billion annual bill for administrative errors.

“But we need to do more to stop fraud. £1.5 billion of hard-earned taxpayers’ money is being stolen from the taxpayer. This is simply not acceptable. Nor is it right that only £20 million of benefit fraud-related debts are recovered each year or that three in four of those caught don’t get prosecuted.”