More local authorities on benefit fraud

Winchester City Council reports that it has prosecuted 13 people successfully since April 2007, including a married couple overpaid £11,000 over two years. They worked for four different employers during that time, but still claimed housing and council tax benefit along with Jobseeker's Allowance.

The council call this "cracking down" but give no meaningful numbers.

East Northamptonshire Council has been reported on more comprehensively than most councils. It paid out £64m in housing and council tax benefits between 2000 and 2007.

During that time it has recovered more than £1.8m in overpayments but is still working on claiming back an outstanding amount of £423,531.

So almost 3.5% of the amount paid out has been identified as overpaid.

The council claim to be one of the best at recovering overpaid benefits. "There is always money outstanding because there has to be a full investigation before we can take enforcement action against someone. There is always a delay between the overpayment going out and it being recovered".

The council has reclaimed nearly 75% of the overpayments identified for 2005/06, over 70% of those from 2006/07, and almost 53% from 2007/08. Of course these are only the over-payments they have identified.

"But officers said the speed at which councils can claim back money has slowed because the law has been changed."

Previously, if a payment to a tenant was made direct to their landlord, the council could ask the landlord to repay the money, but now it is the responsibility of the tenant to make the repayment and, as a result, the size of the instalments made to the council tend to be smaller.

In the last year East Northamptonshire Council has taken out two successful prosecutions against people who have attempted to defraud it. It has another two prosecutions pending and has issued penalties in several other cases. Which doesn't seem a lot for all that money.