Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Hey, Other Governments Err, Too

Israel's current government, including its prime minister and also ministers-to-be-but-are-no-longer-to-be, is not our favorite paragon of virtue and bureaucratic success.

But, there are others out there that seem a bit, well, odd:-

Dead people paid £57m in benefits

The junior work and pensions minister James Plaskitt said 98% of overpayments happened when death occurred too late to stop an automated payment.

The most overpayments - £34.4m - were made for pensions, with £13.3m paid in income support.

The Tory work and pensions spokesman Philip Hammond said it was "more evidence of chaos" at the department.

Mr Plaskitt, in a written Commons answer to Mr Hammond, said the 2005-06 payments did not include housing benefit or council tax benefit.

He said overpayments were also made "when a claimant dies and it becomes apparent from probate records that the information provided in the original claim was inaccurate."

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