Tamworth Borough Council and the Department for Work and Pensions have successfully prosecuted a woman who illegally claimed over £5,000 in Council Tax Benefit and Income Support.  Julie Brighouse, 35, of Deltic, Glascote, failed to declare that she was living with her partner for over 7 months and had been claiming as a single person during this period. 

The total overpayment was £5,329.89.  Mrs Brighouse attended Tamworth Magistrates Court and was given a Community Order of 100 hours unpaid work and was ordered to pay costs of £725. This is in addition to having to repay the overpayment of £5,329.89.

“It is important that if people claiming benefits change their circumstances in any way that they come forward and let our benefits team know” said Cllr Robert Pritchard, portfolio holder for Corporate Governance. “As you can see the difference over seven months is a considerable amount of money which should have gone to someone who really needed it. Providing false information to claim benefits you are not entitled to is not an option. If you are unsure if you need to provide additional information then please speak to one of our benefits advisors.”

Benefit fraud is committed when a person deliberately provides false information, deliberately withholds information or allows someone else to provide false information to obtain Benefits they are not entitled to. It is important that residents keep their details up to date and let the Benefits Team know if there have been any changes in circumstances.

If you are not sure if you need to change your details please contact a member the Benefits Team on 709540. To report someone you believe may be committing Benefit Fraud, you can also contact The National Benefit Fraud Hotline in confidence on 0800 328 6340.