asked the Minister for Social Welfare the amount of money saved in 1988 in the social welfare budget as a result of the measures which were introduced to detect instances of fraud and abuse; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Social Welfare Budget Savings.
16.
In framing the 1988 Estimate provision was made for savings of £27.6 million arising from various measures introduced to improve control of expenditure and increase contribution income. These savings were fully achieved.
In addition, there were savings overall of £90 million on the Social Welfare Vote in 1988. Some of these additional savings were due to a higher than expected yield from the specific control measures which were taken. It is not possible to state with certainty how much of the additional savings were due to control measures but it is likely that a substantial proportion were due, either directly or indirectly, to these measures.
The main value of the savings which have been achieved is that they contribute to the achievement of the Government's financial targets while at the same time, as a result of the savings, the Government are in a position to make substantial improvements in the social welfare payments to those on the lowest payment levels and to large families. The substantial increases announced in yesterday's budget statement are an example of this. Effective measures to control fraud and abuse also demonstrate to contributors to the system and to taxpayers that the available resources are being used in the most effective way. As I announced in my contribution to the budget debate earlier today, I intend to maintain and improve the control measures in the system to ensure that payments are made only to those properly entitled to receive them.