The thrust of that decision is perhaps slightly different from the question. Note that this case came from the Court of Criminal Appeal. You cannot commit social security fraud by failing to disclose something that would not have had any effect on your benefit anyway, even if you thought it would and so were deliberately concealing the fact. This is in line with general criminal law cases in the esoteric field of "impossible attempts" - ie, you try to commit an offence which is in fact impossible (like trying to murder someone who is already dead).
However in basic social security law there is only a duty to disclose a "material fact". A material fact is one that matters in relation to your benefits. If you are absolutely certain that the change cannot affect your benefits at all, then you are under no duty to report it. You had just better be right.
|