Department of Health and Social Security: Committee of Enquiry into Abuse of Social...

BN 60

1970-1975

Minutes, evidence, correspondence, draft reports and other papers of the Committee of Enquiry into Abuse of Social Security Benefits.

Public Record(s)

English

107 file(s)

Subject to 30 year closure unless otherwise stated

Series is not accruing.

Following much political and public concern about allegations of abuse of social security benefits, the Secretary of State for Social Services appointed a committee of enquiry on 22 March 1971. Its chairman was Sir Henry Fisher, a merchant banker and former High Court judge, and its members were drawn from among social scientists and representatives of local Social Service departments, industrial management and the trade union movement. The Department of Health and Social Security serviced and financed the committee whose terms of reference were as follows:

Having regard to the department's obligation to deal promptly and sympathetically with claims to benefit from the public, and, to the economical use of available resources, to review the measures taken by the Department of Health and Social Security and the Department of Employment to prevent and detect abuse through wrongful claims to security benefits (other than War Pensions) and to recommend to the Secretary of State for Social Services, the Secretary of State for Employment and members of the Supplementary Benefits Commission, any changes in procedure which appear necessary.

The committee's report was published in March 1973 (Cmnd 5228).