mike shermer
Welfare Benefits Officer, Kings Lynn & West Norfolk Borough Council, Kings l
Member since 23rd Jan 2004
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RE: IB reforms
Wed 08-Feb-06 09:38 AM |
...and of course, purely by coincidence, both major TV channels have been running programmes highlighting cases of benefit fraud - using stats no doubt fed to their researchers by the DWP - on the Tonight programme on Monday, a figure of up to 14% of Incap claims was given as being fraudulent. It should not forgotten either that the method used by the DWP of calculating the financial loss through fraud gives a much higher figure. In fact, much of the alleged loss is hypothetical in that they estimate how much the claimant would have gotten away with had he not been caught. Members of the public that we see are worried by the proposals, and are assuming that they will be introduced in their entirity. Hopefully, a majority of backbenchers will recognise the whole exercise is in reality a cost cutting one, and one that has the pontential to cause immense damage to many of disabled people, particularly those with mental health problems - don't forget that they make up 40% of all Incap claimants.
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