WIREDGOV NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

DWP:  Claimants tempted by the fact that 1+1 can be greater than 2 - People who tell the DWP they are single parents to get Income Support and Jobseekers Allowance, but are actually secretly living with someone as husband & wife, cost the taxpayer nearly £100m in overpaid benefits, making it one of the most frequently committed benefit frauds.  Just 10 recent cases have cost the taxpayer over £1m.

The Welfare Reform Bill will introduce tougher penalties for both fraud & error:
* A minimum administrative penalty of £350, or 50% of the overpayment, whichever is higher, with 4 weeks loss of benefit
* Extended loss of benefit for offences which result in a conviction of up to 13 weeks for a first offence, then 26 weeks for a second offence and 3 years for a third offence
* An immediate 3 year loss of benefit for serious or organised benefit fraud or identity fraud
*A new £50 civil penalty in cases of claimant error which results in an overpayment as a result of negligence or failure.
Press release ~ Fraud and Error in the Benefit System: April 2009 to March 2010 ~ Guide to tackling housing tenancy fraud ~ National Fraud Authority ~ Action Fraud website ~ AC: Protecting the Public Purse ~ Other AC Fraud links ~ National Fraud Initiative ~ SFO – Public Sector Fraud ~ NAO: Fraud Prevention ~ NAO Fraud links ~ MPs publish report on reducing errors in the benefits system ~ Counter Fraud Champions to help crackdown on fraud ~ OS press release ~ Total frauds in Britain in 2008 & 2009 ~ NAO: Minimising the cost of administrative errors in the benefit system ~ NHS Protect ~ Local Authority Investigation Officers Group (LAIOG) ~ Local Government Fraud Manual ~ ScotGov: Fraud ~ CLG: Social Housing Fraud Communications Toolkit ~ Tackling unlawful subletting & occupancy: Good practice guidance for social landlords ~ NAO:  International benchmark of fraud and error in social security systems ~ DWP : Targeting Benefit Thieves ~ UK Benefit Fraud abroad ~ Insurance Fraud Investigators Group (IFIG) ~ Fraud Advisory Panel ~ Fraudweb ~ National Anti-Fraud Network ~ Directgov: Benefit Fraud ~ Welfare Reform Bill

CIPD: But how do we compare to the rest of Europe – Below the average! - The first quarter of 2012 will be the most difficult quarter for the jobs market since the recession, as the number of private sector firms surveyed planning to make redundancies increases.

This is the main finding of the latest Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) quarterly Labour Market Outlook survey of more than 1,000 employers, conducted by YouGov.  The survey results also point to a further widening of a north-south jobs market divide.

The report’s net employment balance, which measures the difference between the proportion of LMO employers that intend to increase total staffing levels and those that intend to decrease total staffing levels in the first quarter of 2012, has fallen to -8 from -3 since the autumn 2011 quarter.  This is the report’s worst figure since spring 2009.
Press release & links ~ Related DWP PR ~ Related CIPD PR ~ Related IPPR comment ~ CBI comment ~ Related CBI comment ~ WO related PR ~ Related ScotGov PR ~ Scottish labour statistics ~ TUC comment ~ Work Foundation comment ~ CIPD - Women are not being hit harder than men in the UK jobs market ~ European unemployment rates

No, 10: Family break-ups are never easy or straight-forward - The PM David Cameron visited Scotland last week to make the case for keeping the United Kingdom together. 

The PM has also had talks with Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond in Edinburgh.  The meeting came after the First Minister discussed his plans for staging a ballot on independence with the Scottish Secretary Michael Moore earlier this week.
Full news item ~ Transcript of PM's speech ~ ScotGov: 6 specific measures that an independent Scottish administration needs to boost economic growth ~ Lords Constitution Committee back UK Government stance on powers of Scottish Parliament to call independence referendum (Editor’s Note:  On the question of ‘devolution-max’, the Committee felt strongly that the issue should not be a question for Scotland alone)

NHS Confed: There is a need for change in the NHS - Mental Health Network director Steve Shrubb said the latest Death by Indifference report from Mencap was saddening and more must be done to help people with learning disabilities. 

He said:  “The NHS has made progress in this area but there is absolutely no doubt there is still much more to be done in caring for people with learning disabilities. "The solution lies in the NHS taking responsibility when problems occur and taking steps to rectify the situation. The report includes a number of recommendations to increase the auditing and oversight of services.

"This is important but so is creating the right working cultures and collaborations so that, for example, health and social care work together and people can be offered the most appropriate care in the right environments. The most appropriate environment even for people with the most complex health issues is usually based in their own homes, supported by friends, carers and family”. ……..
Press release ~ Death by Indifference ~ CQC publishes 12 reports from its review of services for people with learning disabilities ~ Accessible Healthcare for People with Sensory Loss in Wales ~ 'Does every child matter, post-Blair? The interconnections of disabled childhoods' ~ Report on complaints about disability issues

EU News: Forget budget increase demands, EU finds €82bn down back of the sofa - A Commission plan to channel up to €82bn in uncommitted EU structural funds into schemes to create jobs for young people and support small firms could undermine trust in regional policy, because this is precisely what regional policy already aims to do, MEPs warned in a debate last Monday. The plan would use funds not yet allocated to specific regional policy projects.
Press release & links

DfE: Shaking up the closed shop of LA education - Groups that want to open mainstream, special and alternative provision Free Schools in September 2013 can now submit their detailed plans to the Department.
Press release & links

STFC: Even big organisations started from small beginnings - The Science in Society Programme Small Awards Scheme provides funds for small, local or 'pilot' projects promoting STFC science & technology.  Anyone can apply, including grant-funded research groups, STFC research facility users, schools, museums, etc.  Awards range from £500 to £10,000 and the expenditure can go towards materials, salaries and travel & subsistence. The 2012 closing date is 12 April 2012 at 16:00.
Press release & links

WAG: Stay at home and don't spread your germs - The Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr Tony Jewell, is reminding people with the winter vomiting bug norovirus NOT turn up at hospital Emergency Departments for treatment, and not to visit anyone in hospital.
Press release ~ Norovirus outbreak guidelines

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