Churches and Christian charities have written to the Government expressing their concern over its rhetoric on benefit fraud.
They say that recent announcements from the Government have had the
effect of “stigmatising the poor”, particularly those who receive out of
work benefits.
Although the Christian leaders stress that benefit fraud should be
stamped out, they question the emphasis being placed on it by the
Government.
“The tendency to emphasise fraud when poverty and welfare reform are
discussed often distracts attention from getting resources to those
genuinely in need, which accounts for the other 99.4% of benefit
spending,” they said.
They accused the Chancellor of conflating the figures on benefit
fraud during his speech to announce the Comprehensive Spending Review
last week.
While George Osborne claimed that £5bn was being lost each year to
fraudulent benefit claims, the church and charity leaders said the real
figure was closer to around £1bn a year.
“We agree with the Government that benefit fraud is a serious
offence, but implying that the poorest perpetrate this offence three
times more than is the case is clearly unjust,” they said.
“The fact that issues around welfare reform are vital to the social
and economic future of this country means it is imperative that the
debate is informed by accurate information”.
The leaders also suggested that the Government rhetoric on benefit
fraud was misrepresentative of the reality facing poor people.
“Our experience of working in deprived communities is that life on
benefits is often a struggle, with difficult and stressful financial
choices being a daily occurrence,” they said.
“We believe this reality is not well reflected in Government
statements and needs to be at the heart of any debate on welfare
reform.”
The letter has been signed by a number of Christians, including the
Rev Martyn Atkins, General Secretary of the Methodist Church, Simon
Loveitt, spokesperson on Public Issues for the United Reformed Church,
the Rev Ian Galloway, Convener of the Church and Society Council in the
Church of Scotland, and Lt Col Marion Drew of The Salvation Army.
SIC: CT/UK