Lib Dems slam Government over 29 million pound tax grab on the dead

25 March 2010

Mike Crockart, Liberal Democrat Westminster Parliamentary Candidate for Edinburgh West has called for an urgent enquiry into the conduct of the Department of Work and Pensions after revealing details of a £29 million benefit grab from the recently deceased.

Research by Edinburgh West Liberal Democrats has found that over 65,000 estates of the recently deceased were scrutinised by DWP officials in 2008-09 with only 1 in 9 investigations resulting in claims against the estate.

The intervention of the DWP is also causing significant delays in the time it takes to wind-up estates with an average of a fifteen week wait for bereaved families from the point at which they received the grant of probate, to the final calculation and presentation of a formal claim on the estate.

Figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats show that the number of DWP investigations has risen by almost 30% in the year from 2008 to 2009.

Mike Crockart said

"Losing a family member is a very sad and difficult time for anyone. I am greatly concerned that lengthy investigations by the Department of Work and Pensions into possible benefit overpayments are putting unnecessary additional strain on grieving families.

The DWP should be more concerned with ensuring that people receive the correct benefits while they are still alive rather than delaying the wind-up of family estates and running up hefty legal bills for the families of the deceased.
　

If the DWP suspect that pension credit or any other benefit is being overpaid there is nothing to stop them looking into the matter at any time. They should not be waiting until families are at their most vulnerable before launching their investigations. This is made even worse by the sudden rise in the number of investigations and the small proportion of them which actually result in monies being reclaimed.

This issue causes genuine worry and stress to many widows and widowers, who fear that there
will be large claims made against their partners’ very modest estates. To ask them to wait 15 weeks for the Government to sort its act out merely adds insult to injury.”