This Bill seeks to deal with specific kinds of fraud, particularly that perpetrated by people who receive benefits through the automated credit transfer system. Admittedly, these comprise a small number of cases, but it is difficult, if not impossible, to carry out prosecutions at the moment. When someone signs a giro cheque or an order in the order book every week they are saying that they have specific circumstances that have not changed. Under automated credit transfer the money is paid automatically each month into a bank account. Often there is a failure to report changes in circumstances that would result in the money not being paid, or a lesser amount being paid. We have to prove, to the court’s satisfaction, that the money was paid each month, and that the circumstances had changed.
By the mid-1990s, the system had virtually ceased to apply, with only 8% of unemployed males … Read More