Benefit scroungers. They're everywhere, according to the tabloids. They laze about, watching Sky TV on their giant plasmas, whilst decent, hardworking taxpayers pay for their various addictions and holidays abroad.
But are they really everywhere? Despite the hype, the figures show the claimants in a different light. According to the government, who should know about these things, the Incapacity Benefit 'Fraud and Error' figure is 2.4%. Of this 2.4%, only 0.3% is down to fraud. This amounts to a loss of £20m. The rest is down to customer error (0.9% or £50m) and official error (1.2% or £70m). It would appear that not that many people are faking a sore back or depression after all
2011-12-30
Kit Marsters: Government's Use of Atos to Combat Benefit Fraud Is Flawed, Costly and Counterproductive
