UKC

Just wondering why this doesn't seem to be done?

"A woman who travelled the world while claiming benefits for acute agoraphobia has been told to expect a jail sentence.

Tracy Johnson, 52, claimed to be too unwell to leave her house, yet enjoyed a "champagne lifestyle", writing travel guides, cookbooks and steamy novels while falsely claiming benefits of about £50,000.

As well as a four-month stint in India, Johnson, who has a son, went on shopping sprees in New York and Madrid. A court also heard she spent six months working in Argentina as a tour guide while receiving cold winter payments.

The day after telling benefits officials she could not walk more than five metres (16ft) without help, Johnson went on a two-day trip to central London."

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/apr/07/agoraphobic-woman-travelled-...

In Oz, the DSS data match once a week with people leaving the country based on name and passport number and suspend payment where necessary.

I did work in DWP in London for a while and remember them being a bit incompetent so maybe a simple thing like this is beyond them.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

I believe the words you are looking for is "Joined up Government". Such a thing is only ever talked about because implementation of such a concept requires a new IT system. Sadly, the government is traditionally crap at commissioning new IT systems too. It is a catch 22.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

Maybe it's a cost-benefit analysis thing? Oz population much smaller than ours, and their airports are quieter.

Or it could be crap and incoherent government.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

Hahahhahahahhahahah.

It is impossible to match data within the immigration agency, which has (or at least had, but I very much doubt it's changed) scores of different databases, each of which was a temporary fix cobbled together at the last minute which then just became part of the filthy, rotten furniture of the place. When the new points based system for immigration was announced, that was going to wipe the slate clean, unfortunately it never happened and they just gave the same old system a new name.

Of course, we don't have any record of people leaving the country at all, so that makes, well, everything to to do with immigration impossible.

Unfortunately, the problem is insoluble. Many ministers have genuinely tried, but it actually can't be done.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

I think you hit the nail on the head. Competence, common sense and public services dont mix.

I used to fly to Scotland from the midlands occasionally for work. I would book myself online a cheap flight (about £30 each way at the time so much cheaper than the train or mileage and no overnight needed) and claim back the usual way. Someone at county hall decided we werent allowed to do this anymore. They employed a travel agent to do the booking for us and this cost ridiculous amounts more as well as being more inconvienient.

I could give you multiple examples, but basically anyone with common sense has given up trying to get the bean counters to listen, whilst those in offices delight in keeping things as complicated and pointless as possible.

There is a nice thread about bits of wood being sold to scbools for crazy money.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

Further to other answers: there is no passport control to leave the UK, so the records wouldn't exist even if you wanted to search them.

In reply to Jon Stewart:

I guess it would help if people had 1 number instead of several. Is there a link somewhere to passport numbers and NI numbers?

In reply to RCC:

I have to give my passport number when I book a flight ( can't remember about ferry)

Where does this information go, if anywhere?

In reply to marsbar:
The immigration system doesn't give a stuff about UK citizens, the passport office is separate. The so-called Border Agency doesn't know where anyone is, which you could argue was a good thing.

In reply to marsbar:



To the airline. Most (all?) airlines require you to give them passport info if flying overseas. Possibly some foreign states require them to provide this on the passenger manifest. However, no UK agency requires you to provide (or even have) a passport to leave the UK. It is considered a fundamental human right.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

All the countries in the Schengen area have succesfully implemented exit check without problem (when you exit or enter Schengen passport control is mandatory) yet we are completely unable to implement exit checks in the UK. Go figure.