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Originally Posted by Graham
Will an identity card help eliminate benefit fraud?
The government has not provided evidence to support such a claim. David Blunkett went so far as to dismiss the significance of identity fraud in welfare, advising Parliament †œbenefit fraud is only a tiny part of the problem in the benefit systemÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šà ¬Ã‚ÂÂ.
http://www.no2id.net/IDSchemes/faq.php#8
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There are figures quoted (by the Benefits Agency) of around £2 billion in fraud each year, but ID fraud is only a "tiny part" of that figure.
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How much will the scheme cost the taxpayer?
The government estimated in 2002 that the scheme would cost somewhere in the order of £3.1 billion. When in 2004 the Home Affairs Committee asked the Home Secretary to clarify the exact amount he refused, citing commercial secrecy. By the time the final Bill was published in November 2004 the government acknowledged that the cost of the scheme over ten years would be £5.5 billion. Industry specialists have warned that the complexity and uncertainty of the schemeÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šà ¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s architecture and technology could drive this cost even higher.
http://www.no2id.net/IDSchemes/faq.php#12
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The only "financial benefits" will be to the companies who get the lucrative contracts to develop and implement the scheme. The rest of us will just pay through the nose. |
What you are talking about is the "estimated" cost of "known" fraud. They are two guesstimates. And I mentioned identity fraud as a single example, not the only one.
Anyway, saying "The only "financial benefits" will be to the companies who get the lucrative contracts to develop and implement the scheme" is untrue, as by your own figures there could be a benefit of around £50 million.
And you quote David Blunkett as a reliable source? Yes, well...
I don't know how much financial benefit the scheme could bring. Anyone who claims to know is, quite frankly, lying. It could be billions, it could be a fraction of that. Without implementation we will never know. But financial savings (SOME EXAMPLES - benefit fraud, cheque book fraud, saving on police time, NHS fraud, identity fraud), may well be made.