𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Labour is letting benefit cheats get away with fraud and hardworking families are paying the price, the Conservatives have warned, as official figures show only a tiny fraction of investigations result in prosecution. A mere 6% of regional fraud investigations led to prosecutions and a “paltry” 3% to financial penalties in 2024-25.

The Tories are calling for the immediate re-introduction of face-to-face benefits assessments and new powers to seize luxury assets from cheats. The outcry comes as spending on disability and sickness benefits is forecast to hit £100billion by the end of the decade.

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately said: “These figures lay bare a damning failure of the Labour Government to get a grip on benefit fraud. Ministers talk tough, but the reality is that hardworking families are being forced to subsidise those who have no intention of playing by the rules.

“If Labour cannot turn investigations into meaningful action, then all the headlines and tough talk amount to nothing.”

She wants it made a criminal office to be a “sickfluencer” – a social media user who coaches others how to cheat the system.

The Tory attack comes just months after Labour Left-wingers forced Sir Keir Starmer to abandon disability benefit cuts.

Ms Whately said: “We’ve seen the Prime Minister simply didn’t have the backbone to deliver meaningful reforms to welfare. Only the Conservatives will always back a welfare system that is fair and compassionate — but fairness also means protecting it from abuse and ensuring we live within our means.”

Elliot Keck, head of campaigns at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, was also condemned Labour’s record on tackling benefits cheats.

He said: “The figures make a mockery of the idea that benefit fraud is rigorously punished. If the system won’t deliver consequences, it becomes a soft option for cheats.

“That’s no deterrent, it’s an invitation. Ministers must insist on tougher enforcement, better resourcing, and real consequences, not just headlines about being tough in fraud.”

When it came to “serious and economic crime investigations” in 2024-25, Work and Pensions minister Andrew Western said 7% of these resulted in convictions and there was one “administrative penalty”.

A spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) promised the Government would get tough with fraudsters, stating: “Our Fraud Bill will provide tougher powers to investigate those who would seek to cheat the system. The Bill is expected to save £1.5billion by 2030 and, along with wider reforms, £9.6billion by 2030, according to OBR estimates.”

The department insists it “inherited a broken social security system that is failing people on all accounts” and that it is “committed to increasing the level of face to face assessments”

The Conservatives claim fraud and error across the benefits system were at near-record lows before the pandemic but that criminals exploited the emergency response during Covid. They warn the Fraud Bill risks being “toothless” and want powers established to seize items such as expensive cars and designer goods when cash cannot be recovered.

They also want DWP investigators given the power to arrest.