Public Accounts Committee Sees IT as Component in Benefit Fraud

The UK Government's clampdown on benefit fraud is being thwarted by inadequate IT, says the latest Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report.

The report identifies the 'inadequate information technology systems' as a constraint in tackling fraud. 'Benefit data are held in 20 separate systems with no common access point to all the systems. Consequently staff cannot readily detect incorrect information supplied by customers. The systems also rely on clerical interventions in the calculation of benefits.'

Problems previously encountered in delivering new IT systems had persuaded the relevant departments not to aim for "big bang" replacement of their main Income Support and other existing computer systems. Instead, they are intending to make incremental improvements over the next three years, bringing benefits in eradicating error.

Failure to disclose receipt of other benefits is an important cause of fraud and error in Income Support. This might be addressed by matching information held about individuals' claims for different benefits. At present, staff were relying on running tapes from different benefit systems to identify inconsistencies for investigation. But projects underway should provide automatic cross-checking between different benefits. An integrated electronic information gathering system for new and repeat claims for the main working age benefits and associated claims on other benefits is planned for autumn 2003. This would automatically signal information on customers already held on departmental systems. A single record for each customer, showing benefit awards and payments, to be introduced in 2004, will also later include household data and help to tackle fraud associated with living together as husband and wife.

Certain frauds such as claiming benefit while working might be detected by cross checking to records of other departments and organisations. Any exchange and use of data must satisfy the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Human Rights Act 1998. Recent changes in the law had given greater scope to undertake data matching with other organisations. They now have broad access to the most important data they need, including matching data with the Inland Revenue. They can also seek information from the private sector where reasonable grounds for suspicion of fraud exist. However, differing IT systems and standards meant that exchange and matching of data could be resource intensive and the cost effectiveness of data matching had to be weighed against other methods of fraud prevention and detection. Priorities across government were being worked out in a number of cross-departmental forums.

Information technology improvements are expected to deliver roughly one third of the fraud reduction required by 2006.

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