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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| More lie detectors to curb fraud | More lie detectors to curb fraud |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Fifteen councils across Britain are to be offered lie detectors to help catch out benefit cheats who cost taxpayers up to £400m a year. | Fifteen councils across Britain are to be offered lie detectors to help catch out benefit cheats who cost taxpayers up to £400m a year. |
| Trials of the system, which analyses speech patterns, have made savings of hundreds of thousands of pounds. | Trials of the system, which analyses speech patterns, have made savings of hundreds of thousands of pounds. |
| Seven councils have tested the technology, which is already used by the insurance industry to combat fraud. | Seven councils have tested the technology, which is already used by the insurance industry to combat fraud. |
| Critics say genuine claimants may be put off applying for help for fear of being wrongly labelled a fraudster. | Critics say genuine claimants may be put off applying for help for fear of being wrongly labelled a fraudster. |
| Further evidence | Further evidence |
| The voice-risk analyser equipment detects changes in the sound of the claimant's voice, which could indicate they are not telling the truth about their circumstances. | The voice-risk analyser equipment detects changes in the sound of the claimant's voice, which could indicate they are not telling the truth about their circumstances. |
| Someone who's a practised liar, who's deliberately defrauding the system, may very well be able to beat equipment like this Richard ExellTUC | |
| Benefits staff are then able to ask for further evidence to support any suspicious claims. | Benefits staff are then able to ask for further evidence to support any suspicious claims. |
| Critics say they are concerned genuine claimants could be put off asking for money. | Critics say they are concerned genuine claimants could be put off asking for money. |
| Richard Exell, of the TUC, said: "Someone who's a practised liar, who's deliberately defrauding the system, may very well be able to beat equipment like this, whereas someone who's scrupulously honest may actually be scared off claiming a benefit they're entitled to." | |
| But the government said those doing nothing wrong had nothing to fear and that the lie detector evidence was just the start of fraud investigations. | But the government said those doing nothing wrong had nothing to fear and that the lie detector evidence was just the start of fraud investigations. |
| James Plaskitt, anti-fraud minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, said: "The important thing to understand is it flags up a risk, it doesn't prove the fraud in itself. It's an important additional bit of tooling." | James Plaskitt, anti-fraud minister at the Department for Work and Pensions, said: "The important thing to understand is it flags up a risk, it doesn't prove the fraud in itself. It's an important additional bit of tooling." |
| The lie detectors are expected to be rolled out nationally, with the government claiming they will save taxpayers tens of millions of pounds a year. | The lie detectors are expected to be rolled out nationally, with the government claiming they will save taxpayers tens of millions of pounds a year. |