Annex A

Annex A

Dear H Laese

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request received on 1^st February 2010. You asked for:-

1. How many fraudulent claims have been detected by VRA since its

introduction at DWP?

2. How many genuine claimants have been erroneously flagged by VRA

since its introduction at DWP?

The Department for Work and Pensions has not introduced Voice Risk Analysis (VRA) within its businesses.

The results of a Jobcentre Plus trial were published in a Written Ministerial Statement to the House of Commons on 11^th March 2009 by the then Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform Mr. Tony McNulty.

If you have any queries about this letter please contact me quoting the reference number above.

Yours sincerely,

DWP Central FoI Team

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act

If you are not happy with this response you may request an internal review by e-mailing [DWP request email] or by writing to DWP, Central FoI Team, 2^nd Floor The Adelphi, 1-11, John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HT. Any review request should be submitted within two months of the date of this letter.

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner's Office for a decision. Generally the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted our own complaints procedure. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF www.ico.gov.uk

Appendix A

Work and Pensions

Voice Risk Analysis

The Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform (Mr. Tony McNulty): I wish to update the House on the progress made in piloting Voice Risk Analysis technology.

In its 2005 strategy document “Reducing fraud in the benefit system: achievements and ambitions”, the Government made a public commitment to test Voice Risk Analysis technology, as one method of preventing fraudulent claims to Social Security benefits over the telephone.

The Department is conducting its own research into the efficacy of Voice Risk Analysis based on trials by local authorities and Jobcentre Plus. The Department's research is based on field tests of the technology that
11 Mar 2009 : Column 20WS
assess its capacity to differentiate successfully between high and low risk claims. The Department is committed to ensuring that decisions to use or not use the technology are supported by evidence. The Department's evaluation is being conducted by departmental statisticians who are bound by a national code of practice.

Departmental statisticians have completed an evaluation of the data from six trials in local authorities and one by Jobcentre Plus. The pilots included reviews of existing housing benefit claims in local authorities or consortia of local authorities and new claims to income support and job seeker's allowance in Jobcentre Plus. One additional local authority trial returned too few calls for analysis.

In each trial customers provided information to support their claim over the telephone and staff used Voice Risk Analysis technology to help classify the call as high or low risk. A selection of customers from both groups was followed up with a face-to-face review that aimed to corroborate the operator's judgment by seeing whether this further investigation revealed changes that would have affected the benefit in payment.

The results are shown below.

Earlier this year, the Department announced a second phase of local authority pilots (24 in total) that are now underway and will run for 12 months. These will provide a broader evidence base and a clearer indication of the technology's capacity to distinguish reliably between high and low risk cases. Results will be available in spring 2010.

All of the councils involved have reported a very high level of customer satisfaction with the new process. Customers find it more convenient and faster than the previous process based on filling in forms or visits.

I will update the House as to the findings when they are available.

DWP Central Freedom of Information Team

e-mail: [DWP request email]

Our Ref: FOI 272

9^th February 2010