BASINGSTOKE council has successfully prosecuted seven people for fraudulently claiming housing and council tax benefit in the last three months - and a further 16 cases are in the pipeline.

Council leader Brian Gurden revealed the news at the latest council meeting when Cllr John Clegg highlighted two cases where local residents had falsely claimed £5,803 and £3,340. He asked what arrangements had been made to reclaim the money.

Cllr Gurden said that the person who falsely claimed over £5,000 had signed a standing order with his bank to repay at the rate of £50 a month, increasing to £100 a month at the end of this year.

A bill has been sent to the person who falsely claimed £3,000-plus. No reply had been received yet but if he did not agree to repayment terms then recovery action would be taken, councillors were told.

Cllr Clegg said: "The reason I asked the question was that when I listened to your annual budget presentation you made some play on the fact that the joint administration was prudent with council taxpayers' money.

"I was just wondering what percentage do you normally claw back from over-paid housing and council tax benefits on average.

"It seems to me that if a high proportion is not reclaimed then £3,000-plus in exchange for a £200 fine seems to me to be a good deal."

Cllr Gurden said: "Due to the short time between receiving notice of your question and tonight's meeting I have only been able to get the figures for the last three months. But I am sure I can get the figures for the last year for you.

"As a result of these latest prosecutions, we have received a total of £21,000 in subsidy from the Government incentive scheme. This encourages local authorities to prosecute and so deter others from making fraudulent claims."