By Bruce Robbins

DUNDEE CITY Council has launched a major crackdown on benefit fraudsters who could be cheating taxpayers out of millions of pounds every year.

Stringent new procedures will be introduced starting next month that will make it much harder for fraudsters to successfully claim payments to which they are not entitled.

One leading councillor last night urged people to become “whistle-blowers” to catch the scroungers out.

The rigorous new vetting of housing and council tax benefits claimants is part of a nationwide assault on people who cheat the benefits system, costing the country hundreds of millions of pounds a year in the process.

It is estimated that Dundee benefits cheats cost taxpayers more than £4 million annually—and that figure relates only to housing and council tax benefits. Fraudulent claims for income support, job seekers allowance and other benefits are believed to add millions more to the bill.

More than 20,000 claimants will soon be receiving letters explaining the new verification framework which, ostensibly, is designed to ensure benefit claims are “right first time.”

The real purpose, however, is to make it much harder for cheats to steal from the benefits system, although the extra safeguards will add an extra layer of bureaucracy—and costs—to an already overburdened and expensive process.

The council’s finance convener George Regan said, “We will be writing to some 21,000 people in the city who are getting housing and council tax benefit explaining the detail of the verification framework.

“The letter will contain detailed instructions as to what information and documents the council requires.”

Mr Regan added, “We have redesigned our housing benefit/council tax benefit form to comply with Government policy and ensure that benefits are awarded correctly.

“Although this initiative requires more information and documentation from applicants, this should ensure that benefits are only awarded to legitimate claimants.”

The exact level of fraud in the benefits system will never be known, but the Government estimates that just under 7% of claims for income support and job seekers allowance are fraudulent.

If the same percentage applied to housing and council tax benefits which are paid out in Dundee at the rate of around £62.5 million each year, then local cheats might be defrauding taxpayers of just under £4.19 million.

Councillor Neil Powrie, finance spokesman for the council’s Conservative group, said the sums involved were so huge that even “tiny” levels of fraud would still add up to a great deal of money.

Urging people to “blow the whistle” on benefits cheats, he said it was about time the Government tackled the problem head on.

“These people aren’t defrauding Tony Blair and the Labour Government, they are stealing from their next door neighbours, their family and friends.”

Mr Powrie added, “The problem is taking place on a massive scale and that’s why the Government is taking action, and it’s action I wholeheartedly support.

“However, we mustn’t lose sight of the fact that these new, complicated procedures may put off genuine people from claiming.

“We need to make sure that we have procedures in place to safeguard their interests and ensure that they are encouraged to submit their claims.”

A spokesman for the city council said that, under the new system, there would be a greater need for claimants to provide proof of income and documentation to tighten up the claims procedure.

The scheme also demands the notification of changes in circumstances, which reduces the likelihood of possible overpayments.

“Over the last two years the council has reported 20 benefit fraud cases for prosecution, 45 have received administrative penalties (i.e. fines) and three have received formal cautions,” the spokesman said.

The Department of Work and Pensions, in partnership with local authorities, is carrying out more prosecutions and sanctions against fraudsters than ever before.

In 2002-03 there were over 32,000 prosecutions and sanctions.

The department also has a target to reduce fraud and error in housing benefit by 25% by March 2006.

Members of the public wishing to bring benefits cheats to the attention of the authorities should call hotline 0800 0852289.

Alternatively, reports can be made via the Government website www.targetingfraud.gov.uk