Authorities set for legal boost in war on benefit cheats
Author: The MJ |
Town halls could be handed greater powers to fine benefit cheats ? rather than pursue expensive and time-consuming legal cases ? under Coalition plans to devolve control of council tax support.
As part of plans being considered by ministers and officials, councils would be legally empowered to levy a new set of fines on residents, or employers of local residents, caught making or supporting potentially fraudulent or misleading council tax benefit (CTB) claims. But enforcement powers supporting the full transfer of CTB to localities from April 2013 are unlikely to include strong ‘powers of entry’ ? to residents’ homes ? to assist town hall inquiries.
The proposals are outlined in a ‘statement of intent’ on the localised CTB programme published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) last week.
The abolition of the nationally-funded CTB scheme from 2013 will take with it the investigatory and enforcement powers authorities currently exercised under the Social Security Administration Act (SSAA) 1992. Instead, the DCLG has suggested that the fully devolved CTB regime should be covered by similar rules to be inserted into the 1992 Local Government Finance Act.
Under these proposed rules, ministers plan to hand councils similar powers to those that existed under the SSAA ? including those covering the ability to prosecute residents or employers for false or misleading claims.
The document published last week warns ‘we do not intend to give them [councils] powers of entry equivalent to those that currently exist in relation to council tax benefit’.
But to boost councils’ ability to take action against recalcitrant residents or employers without recourse to the courts, they could be handed powers to issue new fines.
The document reveals: ‘We are considering in certain circumstances, introducing penalties that may be imposed as an alternative to prosecution. These may currently be imposed in cases where, for instance, a person fraudulently omits to supply information that leads to them receiving benefit they are not entitled to or to cases where an employer facilitates the commission of a benefit offence by an employee.
‘In such circumstances, a local authority may offer a fine as an alternative to bringing criminal proceedings.’