You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
From the archive - benefit fraud plan criticised
Inside Housing looks back at what was happening in the sector this week 10, 20 and 30 years ago
30 years ago
Residents of Albert Square were left without a GP when Dr Harold Legg took time off from his busy Walford practice to launch the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless (IYSH) One Hour’s Pay campaign.
The doctor in EastEnders, played by actor Leonard Fenton, joined groups from across the country raising money for projects helping homeless people around the world. Thousands of employed people were donating one hour of their pay to the campaign.
Not to be outdone by their London rivals, stars from the soap opera Crossroads joined in with the fundraising efforts in Birmingham with the help of Margaret Thatcher – not of Downing Street fame but of Spitting Image infamy.
IYSH organisers gave particular thanks to comedian Ernie Wise for raising £12,750 through Radio 4.
20 years ago
Government rewards to local authorities for detecting housing benefit fraud were “perverse incentives” which encouraged sloppy administration, two major reports found.
The studies, published by the National Audit Office and the Audit Commission, said money should be channelled into fraud prevention.
They found that councils which recouped the most savings were among those with the worst track records in administrating benefit. The incentive system had helped push the fight against housing benefit higher up councils’ agendas, but the reports claimed it had outlived its useful life.
Less than a third of the estimated annual £905m fraud had been detected the previous year. The reports said councils should instead be rewarded for meeting nationally agreed administrative benchmarks. They said the current system gave authorities incentives to exaggerate the level of fraud, and encouraged investigators to take a heavy-handed approach towards suspects.
In separate news, Bournemouth Council tenant Mark Watson bought Rufus Castle in Dorset for just £1.
10 years ago
A council in Scotland was planning to place tenants in holiday and second homes to combat its affordable housing problems.
Argyll and Bute Council’s scheme would identify properties left empty for most of the year and encourage owners to lease them to tenants. It was one of a range of measures the council had adopted to combat the high numbers of second and holiday properties in Argyll and Bute (left) – accounting for 4,400 homes, or around 9.5% of the total number.
Malcolm Macfadyen, head of community regeneration at the council, said: “If we can get a few [homes which are empty for most of the year] back in areas where we would not otherwise be able to acquire new properties, there could be a major impact.”
