The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

Archive

New guidelines means benefit cheats could face up to ten years in prison

New guidelines means benefit cheats could face up to ten years in prison
16 September 2013
Marc Zanotti
Avatar
Marc Zanotti
16 September 2013

Benefit cheats could face up to ten years imprisonment if convicted under new guidelines, which will treat individuals deceiving the welfare system as harshly as bank defrauders.

Until now benefit cheats risked a maximum seven-year sentence when charged under social security legislation. The new guidelines will see welfare scammers tried under the Fraud Act, which carries a possible maximum sentence of ten years.

With tax credit and benefit fraud reportedly costing Britain £1.9 billion a year, head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), Keir Starme, said it’s time to take a “tough stance” on those that seek to illegally profit from welfare.

“It is a myth that ‘getting one over on the system’ is a victimless crime: the truth is we all pay the price. But it’s not only the taxpayers that suffer,” said Starme.

”Benefits exist to protect and support the most vulnerable people in our society and, whenever the system is defrauded, it’s also taking money away from those with a genuine need,” he added.

Previously those attempting to defraud the system of £20,000 or less could only be charged with a maximum sentence of twelve months and were tried in magistrates’ courts.

The new guidelines will also dispense with the any financial thresholds, meaning even small cases will be tried in Crown court and carry the possible punishment of a full decade behind bars.

According to BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman, this means welfare cheating will be treated as harshly as bank fraud and money laundering.

In 2012 the CPS oversaw over 8,600 prosecutions in benefit and tax credit cases, with an additional 4,000 cases during the first five months of 2013.

The current conviction rate is 89.7%, according to Mr Starmer, who urges lawyers to consider the substantial financial toll of benefit cheats.

“The cost to the nation incurred by benefit fraud should be at the forefront of lawyers’ minds when considering whether a prosecution is in the public interest,” stated Starme.

“The loss of money has a significant impact on communities up and down the country,” Starme continued.

The new guidelines come following last year’s merging of Department for Work and Pensions’ prosecutions division with the CPS.

Marc Zanotti

Related Items

More in Archive

Achieve timeless elegance this S/S 2014 with S.I.L.K.

Ellie Owen
Read More

Bespoke jewellery by Charlotte Tamar

Niten Thakor
Read More

Enjoy designer luxury with Alexis Smith Lingerie’s A/W 2013 collection

Ellie Owen
Read More

Embrace vibrancy and colour with PPQ this winter

Ellie Owen
Read More

Kenzo Metallics adds the sparkle to you Christmas wardrobe

Niten Thakor
Read More

A Christmas alternative: Cranberry and Orange Jeweled Nut Bake

Bethany Stone
Read More

An Austique shopping guide: your one-stop shop for last minute gifts

Christianna Pugliese
Read More

A comforting twist to designer heels

Michelle McGill
Read More

Iain Duncan Smith condemned for refusing to meet with Trussell Trust

Abbie Cavendish
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Female filmmakers lead nominees for the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards
    Cinema
  • Jeremiah Fraites – Piano Piano
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The White Tiger
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Lonely the Brave – The Hope List
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • 23 Walks
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Live Lab at The Yard Theatre: An interview with associate director Cheryl Gallagher
    Theatre
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks
    Theatre
  • Identifying Features
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • We Still Fax at ANTS Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Undercover at Morpheus Show Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Five arrested over Leicester arson attack
Bloggers Love… The Upper East boutique launch event