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According to the UK Parliament Select Committee the Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) has failed to tackle problems of Housing Benefit fraud and error quickly & convincingly. Yesterday’s report is a must read. Check it out!

via Housing benefit fraud and error report published – News from Parliament – UK Parliament.

What caught my attention was the following:

Around £12.6 billion has been spent on Housing Benefit overpayments since 2000/01 – money that could have been used to improve the system.

Also:

The size of the over-payments is going up not down. In the last financial year £1.4bn of overpayments were made.

What is truly amazing is that the rate of fraud is increasing after nearly four years of David Cameron’s government, despite austerity.

With a UK national election this year, these figures highlight the massive levels of waste in the UK public sector.

Let me ask two open questions:

1. Given the massive fraud at the DWP, surely it’s better to outsource administration?

2. Surely, it would be preferable to scrap housing benefit, and find a more effective way of helping the needy?

Thoughts?

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