AQW 45097/22-27

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 29/04/2026
Answered On Date: 14/05/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail any steps his Department takes when it becomes aware that a third party has provided false or misleading information in a Personal Independence Payment application, without the claimant’s knowledge.

Answer:

All allegations of benefit fraud received by my Department are examined, including cases involving false or misleading information provided by a third party.

Where appropriate, a fraud investigation is undertaken to establish if the allegation can be substantiated. Consideration is also given to whether the claimant was complicit in the fraud, a witness to it, or a victim of it.