MrRDavies
/ Single Investigation Service
Lesley Exchange 1
24 East Bridge Street
Belfast
BT1 3NR
Telephone: 02890 556829
Email:
Our reference: DSD/2014-0088
Dear MrDavies / Date: 21stMay 2014
Freedom of Information Act 2000

I am writing to confirm that the Department has now completed its search for the information which you requested on 25th April 2014.

The information you have requested is detailed on the following pages. If you feel that the information we have provided does not fully meet your request please contact us at 02890 556829 in the first instance. You have the right to request a formal review by the Department within two calendar months of the date of this letter. If you wish to do so, please write to:

The FOI Team, Records Management Branch, Department for Social Development, Ground Floor, Lighthouse Building, 1 Cromac Place, Gasworks Business Park, Ormeau Rd, Belfast, BT7 2JB.

If after such an internal review you are still dissatisfied with the response, you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner at Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF, who will undertake an independent review.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

Yours sincerely

Carol McCleery

Local Information Officer

Single Investigation Service

Can you state how many occasions the DSD invoked powers of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 during the financial years of 2012/2013 and 2013/2014.

The table below shows the number of times Single Investigation Service invoked the Regulation of the Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) 2000 in the years 2012-13 and 2013-14. Please note that there may be more than one RIPA application in any one benefit fraud case. This happens if further surveillance is deemed necessary to obtain more evidence on the claimant’s alleged benefit fraud.

Years / Number of times RIPA invoked
2012-13 / 144
2013-14 / 157
Total / 301

In each case during the financial years of 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 can you explain a brief description of the reason for invoking powers of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

The reason for Single Investigation Service invoking the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act in all cases is under Section 28, Part 3 (b) of the Act which is “for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime or of preventing disorder”.

In each case during the financial years of 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 can you state what action was taken after invoking powers i.e. prosecution, sanctions etc of The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.

The table below shows the outcomes and results of cases which are currently available for the years 2012-13 and 2013-14. Some of the benefit fraud cases are still ongoing therefore there is no outcome for those cases at present.

Years / Closure reasons
Ad Pen / Benefit Correction / CSDM Closure / No result / Positive Criminal / Prosecution / Rejected by PPS / Live with no outcome* / Total
2012-13 / 3 / 0 / 18 / 60 / 1 / 8 / 12 / 30 / 132
2013-14 / 0 / 1 / 4 / 49 / 0 / 0 / 3 / 91 / 148
Total / 3 / 1 / 22 / 109 / 1 / 8 / 15 / 121 / 280

* Some cases may be live but have an outcome because they have been forwarded and are being progressed by another agency e.g. Public Prosecution Service for prosecution.

Ad Pen

This refers to an Administrative Penalty. If the claimant agrees to an Administrative Penalty they must repay the money, which has been overpaid, to the Department plus an additional 30% of the overpayment amount.

CSDM Closure

This refers to the closing of a case by Single Investigation Service’s Central Sanction Decision Maker. The closure decision can be for one of a number of reasons e.g. procedural error.

No result

This is because no fraud has been established or that a duplicate may have been created on the Single Investigation Service system and the original has been removed.

Positive Criminal

This refers to an investigation where Single Investigation Service has undertaken a joint case with another agency i.e. Immigration Services, Police Service of Northern Ireland or the Department of Social Protection (DSP). In DSP cases the claimant is interviewed and prosecuted by DSP in the Republic of Ireland.

Prosecution

This is when a claimant has legal proceedings taken against them.

Rejected by PPS

A case may be rejected by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) e.g. PPS do not believe it will result in a prosecution.

Benefit Correction

Decision Maker Hand Off (no criminal case can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt). The information gathered by Single Investigation Service Investigators is passed to the benefit Decision Maker for benefit revision e.g. a decrease in benefit and potentially raise an overpayment of benefit.