|
|
|
Hackney benefits crisis
HACKNEY'S benefits system is in "crisis" after government figures revealed the borough to harbour the second highest number of suspected fraudsters in London.
Residents tipped off the council to 2,033 alleged housing benefits scams between April and October last year, in a new report from the Department for Work and Pensions.
But from this number of 'referrals' - cases where officers decide they have enough information to take the matter further - just 235 investigations were launched, 18 cautions issued, and 11 prosecutions carried out.
"Clearly there's a crisis in terms of how the council administers what should be the simplest thing - it's mind-boggling," said Councillor Eric Ollerenshaw, leader of Hackney Council's Conservatives.
A spokesman for Hackney Council said that its counter fraud team had identified over-payments of benefits totalling more than £1million between 2005 and 2006.
Hackney is second in London only to Lambeth Council, which at 2,544 referrals, processes the highest number of suspected benefit fraud cases annually.
The council is also bottom of the class for the time taken to process new housing and council tax benefit claims, taking an average of 61 days to process new applications, giving new claimants the longest wait in the capital.
A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions said that officers were working closely with the council in order to reduce the amount of time taken to tackle the amount of benefit fraud in the borough and to process new benefit claims.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|