On Monday, 6th February, Rebecca Smith MP, Member of Parliament for South West Devon, took aim at the Labour Government’s inaction on benefits fraud as she delivered her first speech at the House of Commons despatch box.
Speaking as a new Shadow DWP Junior Minister, Rebecca drove home concerns about the huge absence of a plan to tackle the rapidly rising benefits bill. In 2023/24, the benefits bill stood at an estimated £258.4 billion with almost 6 million on out-of-work benefits. She argues that benefits should be reserved for those most in need and that any abuse of taxpayers' money should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Winding up the debate for the Opposition on the Fraud Bill, Rebecca Smith MP stated:
The new Government’s inaction to date in reforming health and sickness benefits is estimated to have cost the taxpayer approximately £1.8 billion since July 2024, which is around £266 million every month.
Instead, the new Government have gone after pensioners, employers and farmers, actions they were ready and waiting to take without delay. Yet here we are, seven months into a new Parliament, with not a peep on how they will reform the benefit system, other than repeating that they will come up with a plan soon. Indeed, they had 14 years to come up with that plan. Every day Labour ducks the tough questions, the benefits bill continues to grow.
I am sure that across the House we are agreed that it is morally right for the state to provide for the most vulnerable—those who, through no fault of their own, need financial support to provide for themselves or their family. [...] However, [...] there is a need to recover public money that has been claimed either in error or because of fraud. [...] This is, after all, as we have heard multiple times, taxpayers’ money that has ended up in the wrong bank account.
First and foremost, we must see money from the public purse fairly and squarely in the hands of those it is intended for, and not in the hands of the fraudsters working to line their own pockets.
Protecting the vulnerable is a key priority for Rebecca in South West Devon. She has spoken at length about the need to reverse the Labour Government’s disastrous reversal of the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners, driving down Violence Against Women and Girls, supporting care leavers, and protecting charities from the hike in Employers’ National Insurance Contributions.
However, as she sets out in her speech, Rebecca believes that the law should come down hard on people who try to game the system and dine out on people’s charity. She understands that this stolen wealth will mean less money for those who genuinely need a hand up in our communities.
