The DWP released a paper on benefit fraud. This year’s figures show that 0.7% of benefits were overpaid due to fraud. That’s a tiny amount. A really small amount. Contrast this with the public belief that 24% of benefits were overpaid due to fraud. The public thinks that benefit fraud is 34 times more prevalent than it actually is, no wonder the DWP and Ian Duncan Smith feel they can act so recklessly.
It’s sad, really. The Conservatives would be laughed out of the House of Commons if this issue was really understood by the public, but the way in which fraud/crime/immigration/etc is portrayed in the media makes that really difficult.
