Lie detectors going nationwide

Thursday, December 04, 2008

In proposals put forward by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, voice risk analysis (VRA) technology will be rolled out nationwide and used on anyone found guilty of benefit fraud.

Preceding the Queen's Speech, the Cabinet Office published its Fair Rules for Strong Communities strategy. The report, outlining a "wide range of policy initiatives designed to support strong communities", has proposed that if the current VRA pilots are successful, then it will be rolled out across the country.

"Over the coming year, 25 local authorities who administer housing benefits to over 500,000 beneficiaries will pilot this technology. If the pilot proves successful, we will move to roll out this technology across the benefit system," it said.

The government introduced the technology in Harrow, north-west London, in 2007. In the first three months of using the technology Harrow saved £300,000, suggesting that levels of benefit fraud may be higher than government estimates. Ministers are cracking down on benefit fraud even though it is officially at its lowest recorded level, down 66 per cent since 2001.

The government currently withdraws 13 weeks of benefit from anyone found making a fraudulent claim twice in five years, but said it intends to tighten this process by withdrawing four weeks' benefit for first time fraudsters.