Benefit fraud in Northern Ireland rises to £233m, says minister

Benefit fraud in Northern Ireland has risen from £163m to £233m in recent years, the communities minister has said.

Gordon Lyons also revealed that each year government mistakes cost £40m and customer mistakes amount to £75m, making the total figure £350m.

The minister explained that until now money recovered through fraud investigations went straight back to the Treasury so there was little incentive to spend money on investigations.

But he said the Treasury has now agreed to let Stormont keep a percentage of the money recovered if it steps up its anti-fraud measures.

The £350m is about 4% of the overall benefits bill in Northern Ireland, Lyons said.

The minister explained that the the fraud figures are "very robust estimates based on the data" from the Department for Communities (DfC) and the UK Department for Work and Pensions.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme, he said this "may seem like a small sum" but it could make a "real difference" if Northern Ireland was able to tackle benefit fraud and keep a share of Westminster funds.

He said that for every £10m invested in cracking down on benefit fraud, Northern Ireland could get back about £50m which would be shared with the Treasury.

The DUP minister said the department's intention is not to go after the people "making simple errors".

"It's about people who deliberately misrepresent their circumstances in order to get money that they're not entitled to."

Minister Lyons said the DfC "get it right 99.3% of the time" but mistakes "still get made".

He said the department can do better, and will "show a direct return" if it is funded.