Welfare campaigners attack Government over benefit fraud technology » Central government » 24dash.com

The Government came under attack today for extending a crackdown on benefit cheats amid concerns that it could hit legitimate claimants especially the disabled.

Campaign and disability groups voiced worries that people could be put off asking for money to which they were entitled for fear of being labelled a fraudster.

One Labour MP said he was "appalled" at the extension of the crackdown while the TUC warned that the genuinely needy would have to wait while their claims were assessed.

The scheme, which checks voice stress levels, is being tested by seven local authorities but this will now be extended to 22 areas.

Ministers said the move could save £30million a year and could catch 10,000 fraudsters by using the so-called Voice Risk Analysis (VRA) technology which picks up any stress in a caller's voice.

Anti-fraud Minister James Plaskitt announced the extension of the scheme during a visit to Harrow in north-west London, one of the pilot areas which has saved an estimated £420,000 in benefit claims in the past year and is now testing using the equipment in other languages.

Mr Plaskitt said: "This positive and encouraging news from the pilots shows that this technology is helping to combat benefit fraud. It is also making it quicker and easier to review claims especially for those people who are genuinely entitled to benefits."

The minister said most people who received benefits were entitled to the money but there was a minority who tried to cheat the system.

"We need to continue to do more to make sure that taxpayers money always goes to those who need it most," he said.

The Government will provide funding worth £1.5million to increase the number of local authorities in Britain testing the technology.

Labour MP John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) said: "No-one condones fraud but people have a right to claim benefits that they have paid their taxes to fund without being treated like criminals."

A spokesman for the Child Poverty Action Group said: "It is deeply worrying that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does not appear to have made any evaluation of the pilots and has made the decision on what seems to be anecdotal evidence.

"Major concerns were expressed by disability and welfare rights organisations that this technology is unproven, stigmatising and could put off legitimate but vulnerable claimants from accessing welfare rights."

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said cheats could be accomplished liars who fool the system while the honest could sometimes fail.

"The danger is that the genuinely needy then have to wait while their claims are assessed or become so frightened they withdraw their application, meanwhile real fraud goes undetected because the cheats pass an unreliable test," he said.

"Of course the authorities must tackle fraud but this kind of shortcut penalises some of the poorest and weakest members of society without catching the real cheats."

Andy Rickell, executive director of disability charity Scope said: "While we understand that the DWP believes this software could help tackle benefit fraud we are concerned that disabled people will be put off asking for money to which they are entitled for fear of being wrongly labelled a fraudster.

"The system should not be rolled out for incapacity benefits until it has been rigorously tested and the DWP can demonstrate that it won't penalise disabled people.

"We would want assurances that this software gives accurate results when used for people with different impairments, particularly those with communication impairments, mental health conditions and learning difficulties and we would also like to see a disability impact assessment carried out to make sure this software does not disproportionately disadvantage disabled people."