120 people convicted of benefit fraud in County Derry over the past three years

By Cathal McGuigan

More than 100 people have been convicted of benefit fraud in County Derry over the past three years, according to figures from the Department for Communities (DfC).

In response to an FOI request from the Co Derry Post the Department revealed that 120 people have been convicted of benefit fraud since 2014, while a further 237 people were given ‘administrative penalties’ as an alternative to prosecution.

More than 2,500 cases in Co Derry have been investigated by the Department since 2014, while over 5,300 allegations of benefit fraud being received.

The latest Labour Market Report, published on Wednesday, shows that the Causeway Coast and Glens area continues to have one of the highest percentages of people claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance in the north.

According the latest Labour Force Survey, covering February to April 2017, over 2,400 people are claiming benefits in the area, representing around 2.7% of the working age (16 to 64) population.

This is the highest figure outside of Belfast, which has around 7,900 claimants (3.5%) and Derry City and Strabane where around 4,900 people, more than 5% of the working age population, are on benefits. The three council districts are the only areas which have a higher claimant count than the Northern Ireland average of 2.6%.

Yet, the Causeway Coast and Glen are has seen a 17.7% fall in unemployment in the past year, with more than 500 people coming off benefits. This is one of the most significant falls in unemployment in the north, behind four other council areas including Fermanagh and Omagh (23.5%) and Lisburn and Castlereagh (20.7%).

The statistics show that the majority of claimants in the Causeway Coast and Glens are men, with around 1,600 on benefits.

The Mid Ulster council area continues to have the lowest percentage of claimants in the north, with 1.5% of people on unemployment benefits, representing around 1400 people.

The Labour Force Survey also revealed that the unemployment rate across the north in general decreased by 0.3% over the past year to 5.4%. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the north also fell by around 6,000 over the past year.

A report published by the Northern Ireland Audit Office in December showed that £5.8bn was spent on benefits from April 2015 to April 2016, which works out as around £15.8m per day.

Benefit fraud cost £45m in the same year, an 11-year high at around £800,000 a week.