Portfolio Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at 12:48 pm on 19 December 2024.
Sandesh Gulhane
Conservative
12:48,
19 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to tackle any fraud in Social Security Scotland. (S6O-04150)
Shirley-Anne Somerville
Scottish National Party
Social Security Scotland has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud. It has published a counter-fraud strategy and has in place counter-fraud response measures to identify and tackle emergent fraud risks.
Where Social Security Scotland has good reason to believe that fraud has taken place, it will investigate and make efforts to stop on-going financial loss and will seek to recover payments. Where appropriate to do so, Social Security Scotland will report to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service on cases of suspected fraud.
Sandesh Gulhane
Conservative
Despite receiving almost 8,000 allegations of fraud, Scotland’s benefit agency has referred just one person to prosecutors, and that one case was subsequently dropped—so much for a zero-tolerance approach. Surely the Cabinet secretary must share my concern—those figures should send alarm bells through Government—unless she believes that there is simply no fraud. Will she protect taxpayers’ money and look at the robustness and staffing levels of the anti-fraud team?
Shirley-Anne Somerville
Scottish National Party
I extend an invitation to Sandesh Gulhane to meet Social Security Scotland to go through exactly what is in place. I appreciate the points and the figures that he has laid out, but they do not necessarily reflect that there is an issue in the system.
Rather than being limited to what we can go through in the chamber, it would be useful to talk about what happens with the claims that come in about fraudulent activity and the detailed processes on fraud risk and suspected fraudulent activity. There is an enormous amount that we could go into on the investigative methodology and data analysis and on working with partners to approve the appropriate response to fraud. Not all cases should go to the Crown Office, but very stringent measures are in place in the agency. I invite the member to meet the agency to talk through that. If he still has any concerns, I would be happy to discuss those with him in detail.
Kenneth Gibson
Scottish National Party
The Cabinet secretary will agree that it is vital to minimise any fraud, not just fraud in relation to benefits that Social Security Scotland delivers. She will be aware that the United Kingdom taxpayer was defrauded of tens of billions of pounds during the Covid pandemic, from dodgy personal protection equipment to some employers falsely claiming furlough payments. What co-operation has there been between the Scottish and UK Governments to recover that money and money lost through tax evasion by wealthy individuals?
Alison Johnstone
Presiding Officer
I am not wholly content that that relates to the substantive question. We will move on to question 7.
Kenneth Gibson
Scottish National Party
On a point of order, Presiding Officer. My question was about fraud—[Interruption.].
Alison Johnstone
Presiding Officer
Mr Gibson, I have ruled.
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