The government has been accused of failing to combat fraud committed by asylum seekers who illegally claim benefits. The Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, John Vine, has said that there is not an effective strategy to help combat fraud in the £155m asylum support system. The Home Office has responded by saying that improvements have already been made, and there are considerable plans afoot to help ensure further improvements and the prevention of fraud in this area.
Asylum seekers are entitled to benefits and financial support to help with the costs of housing and living. These typically total a minimum of £36 per week, but not everybody is entitled to these benefits. What’s more, eligibility for asylum benefits means that some claimants may not be entitled to other forms of benefit as a result. It is here that fraudulent claims have become a problem.
Last year alone, 27,000 people received these benefits but there were only six people successfully prosecuted and only £5,673 was recovered in lost money. A report published by Mr Vine has highlighted a number of areas where fraud is being committed, while also showing a number of ways in which the Home Office is failing to identify and combat fraud. The Home Office has taken 11 of the suggestions in the report and has said that they will implement these changes in the future.
Fundamental problems exist, according to Vine’s report, throughout the whole process. No evaluation of risk exposure has taken place, so the Home Office is not even aware of the possible extent of the problem, while no system existed to ensure that fraud teams were operating in a consistent manner. Furthermore, the report went on, there was insufficient resources being given to the problem and this meant that the fraud teams were unable to act efficiently.
The Home Office responded by saying that it was committed to ensuring suitable housing and living for those that were fairly granted asylum. They said that they have a zero tolerance towards abuse of the system, and that they were dedicated to identifying and tackling the problem of asylum seeker fraud.