Social Citizenship and Social Security Fraud in the UK and Australia

Grainne McKeever

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9515.2012.00844.x

Social Citizenship and Social Security Fraud in the UK and Australia

Grainne McKeever

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article examines the nature of social citizenship for social security claimants in the UK and Australia, focusing on claimants suspected or convicted of minor social security fraud. It argues that claimants are excluded from social citizenship and that social security fraud legislation reinforces this exclusion. It proposes that social citizenship be redefined to more closely mirror T. H. Marshall’s vision of social citizenship, and suggests a new policy framework within which minor social security fraud could be decriminalized.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	465-482
Journal	Social Policy & Administration
Volume	46
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9515.2012.00844.x
Publication status	Published (in print/issue) - Aug 2012

Bibliographical note

Reference text: Ashworth, A. (2006), Principles of Criminal Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) (2010), Centrelink Fraud Investigations, Canberra:
Commonwealth Government of Australia.
Beveridge, W. (1942), Social Insurance and Allied Services, London: HMSO.
Bosniak, L. (2003), Citizenship. In P. Cane and M. Tushnet (eds), The Oxford Handbook
of Legal Studies, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 183–201.
Bulmer, M. and Rees, A. M. (1996), Citizenship Today: the contemporary relevance of T.H.
Marshall, London: UCL Press.
Carney, T. (2005), Not the old way, not the third way, but the OECD/US way?:
welfare sanctions and active welfare in Australia, Journal of Social Security Law, 12, 2:
57–80.
Carney, T. (2006), Social Security Law and Policy, Sydney: Federation Press.
Carney, T. and Hanks, P. (1994), Social Security in Australia, Melbourne: Oxford University
Press.
Castles, F. (1985), The Working Class and Welfare, Sydney: Allen and Unwin.
Chunn, D. E. and Gavigan, S. A. M. (2004), Welfare law, welfare fraud and the moral
regulation of the ‘never deserving’ poor, Social and Legal Studies, 13, 2: 219–43.
Connor, S. (2007), We’re onto you: A critical examination of the DWP ‘Targeting
Benefit Fraud’ Campaign, Critical Social Policy, 27, 2: 231–52.
D’Arcy, S. (2008), Is there ever an obligation to commit welfare fraud? Journal of Value
Enquiry, 42: 377–87.
Duff, R. A. (2001), Punishment, Communication and Community, Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Etzioni, A. (1995), The Spirit of Community: Rights, Responsibilities and the Communitarian
Agenda, London: Fontana Press.
Fimister, G., Harvey, J., Lovell, W., Sands, D., Zaluski-Zaluczkowski, R. and Deviren,
F. (2009), Reporting changes in circumstances: factors affecting the behaviours of benefit claimants,
DWP Research Report No. 544, London: The Stationery Office.
Fineman, M. A. (2000), Cracking the Foundational Myths: Independence, Autonomy
and Self-Sufficiency, American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy and Law, 8:
13–29.
Forbath, W. E. (1999), Caste, Class and Equal Citizenship, Michigan Law Review, 98, 1:
23–61.
Friedman, M. A. (1962), Capitalism and Freedom, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago
Press.
Graetz, M. J. and Mashaw, J. L. (1999), True Security: Rethinking American Social Insurance,
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Green, S. P. (2011), Just Deserts in Unjust Societies: A Case-specific Approach. In R.
A. Duff and S. P. Green (eds), Philosophical Foundations of Criminal Law, Oxford:
Oxford University Press, pp. 352–76.
Griggs, J. and Evans, M. (2010), Sanctions within conditional benefit systems: A review of
evidence, London: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Harris, N. (2010), Conditional Rights, Benefit Reform, and Drug Users: Reducing
Dependency? Journal of Law and Society, 37, 2: 233–63.
Hart, H. L. A. (1986), Punishment and Responsibility, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hayek, F. A. (1960), The Constitution of Liberty, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Higgins, W. and Ramia, G. (2000), Social Citizenship. In W. Hudson and J. Kane
(eds), Rethinking Australian Citizenship, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp.
136–49.
Hirsch, D. and Beckhelling, J. (2011), Tackling the adequacy trap: earnings, incomes and work
incentives under the Universal Credit, London: Resolution Foundation.
Husak, D. (2010), The De Minimis ‘Defence’ to Criminal Liability. In R. A. Duff and
S. P. Green (eds), Philosophical Foundations of Criminal Law, Oxford: Oxford University
Press, pp. 328–51.
Lister, R. (2003), Citizenship: feminist perspectives, Washington Square, NY: New York
University Press.
Marshall, T. H. (1950), Citizenship and Social Class. Reprinted in T. H. Marshall and
T. Bottomore (1992), Citizenship and Social Class, London: Pluto, pp. 3–51.
Marshall, T. H. (1963), The Welfare State – a Comparative Study. Reprinted in T. H.
Marshall, Sociology at the Crossroads, London: Heinemann.
Marston, G. and Walsh, T. (2008), A case of misrepresentation: Social security fraud
and the criminal justice system in Australia, Griffith Law Review, 17, 1: 285–300.
McCluskey, M. T. (2003), Efficiency and Social Citizenship: Challenging the
Neoliberal Attack on the Welfare State, Indiana Law Journal, 78: 783–876.
Social Policy & Administration, Vol. 46, No. 4, August 2012
McKeever, G. (1999), Detecting, Prosecuting and Punishing Benefit Fraud: The Social
Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997, Modern Law Review, 62, 2: 261–70.
McKeever, G. (2009), Balancing Rights with Responsibilities: The Case of Social
Security Fraud, Journal of Social Security Law, 16, 3: 139–68.
Mitton, L. (2009), Factors affecting compliance with rules: Understanding the behaviour and
motivations behind customer fraud, Department for Work and Pensions Working Paper
No. 67, London: Department for Work and Pensions.
National Audit Office (NAO) (2011), Department for Work and Pensions: 2010–11 Accounts,
London: The Stationery Office.
Powell, M. (2002), The Hidden History of Social Citizenship, Citizenship Studies, 6, 2:
229–44.
Rees, A. M. (1995), The promise of social citizenship, Policy and Politics, 23: 313–25.
Saunders, P. and Deeming, C. (2011), The impact of the crisis on Australian social
security policy in historical perspective, Social Policy & Administration, 45, 4: 371–88.
Shaver, S. (2002), Australian Welfare Reform: From Citizenship to Supervision, Social
Policy & Administration, 36, 4: 331–45.
Smyth, P. (2002), British and European Influences on the ‘Australian Way’ from the
1980s, Social Policy & Administration, 36, 4: 426–42.
Tunley, M. (2010), Need, greed or opportunity? An examination of who commits
benefit fraud and why they do it, Security Journal, 1–18.
Twine, F. (1994), Citizenship and Social Rights, London: Sage.
Walsh, T. and Marston, G. (2010), Benefit overpayment, welfare fraud and financial
hardship in Australia, Journal of Social Security Law, 17, 2: 100–25.
Wells, C. and Quick, O. (2010), Lacey, Wells and Quick, Reconstructing Criminal Law,
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Keywords

Social citizenship
State welfare
Social security fraud
Exclusion

Access to Document

10.1111/j.1467-9515.2012.00844.x

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9515.2012.00844.x/abstract

Conditionality as moral hazard
Mc Keever, G. (Speaker)
5 Nov 2018
Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk

Cite this

@article{6df991afd13d453eb6109d26b1b6ca1c,

title = "Social Citizenship and Social Security Fraud in the UK and Australia",

abstract = "This article examines the nature of social citizenship for social security claimants in the UK and Australia, focusing on claimants suspected or convicted of minor social security fraud. It argues that claimants are excluded from social citizenship and that social security fraud legislation reinforces this exclusion. It proposes that social citizenship be redefined to more closely mirror T. H. Marshall{\textquoteright}s vision of social citizenship, and suggests a new policy framework within which minor social security fraud could be decriminalized.",

keywords = "Social citizenship, State welfare, Social security fraud, Exclusion",

author = "Grainne McKeever",

note = "Reference text: Ashworth, A. (2006), Principles of Criminal Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) (2010), Centrelink Fraud Investigations, Canberra: Commonwealth Government of Australia. Beveridge, W. (1942), Social Insurance and Allied Services, London: HMSO. Bosniak, L. (2003), Citizenship. In P. Cane and M. Tushnet (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Legal Studies, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 183–201. Bulmer, M. and Rees, A. M. (1996), Citizenship Today: the contemporary relevance of T.H. Marshall, London: UCL Press. Carney, T. (2005), Not the old way, not the third way, but the OECD/US way?: welfare sanctions and active welfare in Australia, Journal of Social Security Law, 12, 2: 57–80. Carney, T. (2006), Social Security Law and Policy, Sydney: Federation Press. Carney, T. and Hanks, P. (1994), Social Security in Australia, Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Castles, F. (1985), The Working Class and Welfare, Sydney: Allen and Unwin. Chunn, D. E. and Gavigan, S. A. M. (2004), Welfare law, welfare fraud and the moral regulation of the {\textquoteleft}never deserving{\textquoteright} poor, Social and Legal Studies, 13, 2: 219–43. Connor, S. (2007), We{\textquoteright}re onto you: A critical examination of the DWP {\textquoteleft}Targeting Benefit Fraud{\textquoteright} Campaign, Critical Social Policy, 27, 2: 231–52. D{\textquoteright}Arcy, S. (2008), Is there ever an obligation to commit welfare fraud? Journal of Value Enquiry, 42: 377–87. Duff, R. A. (2001), Punishment, Communication and Community, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Etzioni, A. (1995), The Spirit of Community: Rights, Responsibilities and the Communitarian Agenda, London: Fontana Press. Fimister, G., Harvey, J., Lovell, W., Sands, D., Zaluski-Zaluczkowski, R. and Deviren, F. (2009), Reporting changes in circumstances: factors affecting the behaviours of benefit claimants, DWP Research Report No. 544, London: The Stationery Office. Fineman, M. A. (2000), Cracking the Foundational Myths: Independence, Autonomy and Self-Sufficiency, American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy and Law, 8: 13–29. Forbath, W. E. (1999), Caste, Class and Equal Citizenship, Michigan Law Review, 98, 1: 23–61. Friedman, M. A. (1962), Capitalism and Freedom, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Graetz, M. J. and Mashaw, J. L. (1999), True Security: Rethinking American Social Insurance, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Green, S. P. (2011), Just Deserts in Unjust Societies: A Case-specific Approach. In R. A. Duff and S. P. Green (eds), Philosophical Foundations of Criminal Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 352–76. Griggs, J. and Evans, M. (2010), Sanctions within conditional benefit systems: A review of evidence, London: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Harris, N. (2010), Conditional Rights, Benefit Reform, and Drug Users: Reducing Dependency? Journal of Law and Society, 37, 2: 233–63. Hart, H. L. A. (1986), Punishment and Responsibility, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hayek, F. A. (1960), The Constitution of Liberty, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Higgins, W. and Ramia, G. (2000), Social Citizenship. In W. Hudson and J. Kane (eds), Rethinking Australian Citizenship, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 136–49. Hirsch, D. and Beckhelling, J. (2011), Tackling the adequacy trap: earnings, incomes and work incentives under the Universal Credit, London: Resolution Foundation. Husak, D. (2010), The De Minimis {\textquoteleft}Defence{\textquoteright} to Criminal Liability. In R. A. Duff and S. P. Green (eds), Philosophical Foundations of Criminal Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 328–51. Lister, R. (2003), Citizenship: feminist perspectives, Washington Square, NY: New York University Press. Marshall, T. H. (1950), Citizenship and Social Class. Reprinted in T. H. Marshall and T. Bottomore (1992), Citizenship and Social Class, London: Pluto, pp. 3–51. Marshall, T. H. (1963), The Welfare State – a Comparative Study. Reprinted in T. H. Marshall, Sociology at the Crossroads, London: Heinemann. Marston, G. and Walsh, T. (2008), A case of misrepresentation: Social security fraud and the criminal justice system in Australia, Griffith Law Review, 17, 1: 285–300. McCluskey, M. T. (2003), Efficiency and Social Citizenship: Challenging the Neoliberal Attack on the Welfare State, Indiana Law Journal, 78: 783–876. Social Policy & Administration, Vol. 46, No. 4, August 2012 McKeever, G. (1999), Detecting, Prosecuting and Punishing Benefit Fraud: The Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997, Modern Law Review, 62, 2: 261–70. McKeever, G. (2009), Balancing Rights with Responsibilities: The Case of Social Security Fraud, Journal of Social Security Law, 16, 3: 139–68. Mitton, L. (2009), Factors affecting compliance with rules: Understanding the behaviour and motivations behind customer fraud, Department for Work and Pensions Working Paper No. 67, London: Department for Work and Pensions. National Audit Office (NAO) (2011), Department for Work and Pensions: 2010–11 Accounts, London: The Stationery Office. Powell, M. (2002), The Hidden History of Social Citizenship, Citizenship Studies, 6, 2: 229–44. Rees, A. M. (1995), The promise of social citizenship, Policy and Politics, 23: 313–25. Saunders, P. and Deeming, C. (2011), The impact of the crisis on Australian social security policy in historical perspective, Social Policy & Administration, 45, 4: 371–88. Shaver, S. (2002), Australian Welfare Reform: From Citizenship to Supervision, Social Policy & Administration, 36, 4: 331–45. Smyth, P. (2002), British and European Influences on the {\textquoteleft}Australian Way{\textquoteright} from the 1980s, Social Policy & Administration, 36, 4: 426–42. Tunley, M. (2010), Need, greed or opportunity? An examination of who commits benefit fraud and why they do it, Security Journal, 1–18. Twine, F. (1994), Citizenship and Social Rights, London: Sage. Walsh, T. and Marston, G. (2010), Benefit overpayment, welfare fraud and financial hardship in Australia, Journal of Social Security Law, 17, 2: 100–25. Wells, C. and Quick, O. (2010), Lacey, Wells and Quick, Reconstructing Criminal Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.",

year = "2012",

month = aug,

doi = "10.1111/j.1467-9515.2012.00844.x",

language = "English",

volume = "46",

pages = "465--482",

journal = "Social Policy & Administration",

issn = "1467-9515",

publisher = "John Wiley & Sons, Inc.",

number = "4",

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T1 - Social Citizenship and Social Security Fraud in the UK and Australia

AU - McKeever, Grainne

N1 - Reference text: Ashworth, A. (2006), Principles of Criminal Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) (2010), Centrelink Fraud Investigations, Canberra: Commonwealth Government of Australia. Beveridge, W. (1942), Social Insurance and Allied Services, London: HMSO. Bosniak, L. (2003), Citizenship. In P. Cane and M. Tushnet (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Legal Studies, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 183–201. Bulmer, M. and Rees, A. M. (1996), Citizenship Today: the contemporary relevance of T.H. Marshall, London: UCL Press. Carney, T. (2005), Not the old way, not the third way, but the OECD/US way?: welfare sanctions and active welfare in Australia, Journal of Social Security Law, 12, 2: 57–80. Carney, T. (2006), Social Security Law and Policy, Sydney: Federation Press. Carney, T. and Hanks, P. (1994), Social Security in Australia, Melbourne: Oxford University Press. Castles, F. (1985), The Working Class and Welfare, Sydney: Allen and Unwin. Chunn, D. E. and Gavigan, S. A. M. (2004), Welfare law, welfare fraud and the moral regulation of the ‘never deserving’ poor, Social and Legal Studies, 13, 2: 219–43. Connor, S. (2007), We’re onto you: A critical examination of the DWP ‘Targeting Benefit Fraud’ Campaign, Critical Social Policy, 27, 2: 231–52. D’Arcy, S. (2008), Is there ever an obligation to commit welfare fraud? Journal of Value Enquiry, 42: 377–87. Duff, R. A. (2001), Punishment, Communication and Community, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Etzioni, A. (1995), The Spirit of Community: Rights, Responsibilities and the Communitarian Agenda, London: Fontana Press. Fimister, G., Harvey, J., Lovell, W., Sands, D., Zaluski-Zaluczkowski, R. and Deviren, F. (2009), Reporting changes in circumstances: factors affecting the behaviours of benefit claimants, DWP Research Report No. 544, London: The Stationery Office. Fineman, M. A. (2000), Cracking the Foundational Myths: Independence, Autonomy and Self-Sufficiency, American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy and Law, 8: 13–29. Forbath, W. E. (1999), Caste, Class and Equal Citizenship, Michigan Law Review, 98, 1: 23–61. Friedman, M. A. (1962), Capitalism and Freedom, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Graetz, M. J. and Mashaw, J. L. (1999), True Security: Rethinking American Social Insurance, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Green, S. P. (2011), Just Deserts in Unjust Societies: A Case-specific Approach. In R. A. Duff and S. P. Green (eds), Philosophical Foundations of Criminal Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 352–76. Griggs, J. and Evans, M. (2010), Sanctions within conditional benefit systems: A review of evidence, London: Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Harris, N. (2010), Conditional Rights, Benefit Reform, and Drug Users: Reducing Dependency? Journal of Law and Society, 37, 2: 233–63. Hart, H. L. A. (1986), Punishment and Responsibility, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hayek, F. A. (1960), The Constitution of Liberty, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Higgins, W. and Ramia, G. (2000), Social Citizenship. In W. Hudson and J. Kane (eds), Rethinking Australian Citizenship, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 136–49. Hirsch, D. and Beckhelling, J. (2011), Tackling the adequacy trap: earnings, incomes and work incentives under the Universal Credit, London: Resolution Foundation. Husak, D. (2010), The De Minimis ‘Defence’ to Criminal Liability. In R. A. Duff and S. P. Green (eds), Philosophical Foundations of Criminal Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 328–51. Lister, R. (2003), Citizenship: feminist perspectives, Washington Square, NY: New York University Press. Marshall, T. H. (1950), Citizenship and Social Class. Reprinted in T. H. Marshall and T. Bottomore (1992), Citizenship and Social Class, London: Pluto, pp. 3–51. Marshall, T. H. (1963), The Welfare State – a Comparative Study. Reprinted in T. H. Marshall, Sociology at the Crossroads, London: Heinemann. Marston, G. and Walsh, T. (2008), A case of misrepresentation: Social security fraud and the criminal justice system in Australia, Griffith Law Review, 17, 1: 285–300. McCluskey, M. T. (2003), Efficiency and Social Citizenship: Challenging the Neoliberal Attack on the Welfare State, Indiana Law Journal, 78: 783–876. Social Policy & Administration, Vol. 46, No. 4, August 2012 McKeever, G. (1999), Detecting, Prosecuting and Punishing Benefit Fraud: The Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997, Modern Law Review, 62, 2: 261–70. McKeever, G. (2009), Balancing Rights with Responsibilities: The Case of Social Security Fraud, Journal of Social Security Law, 16, 3: 139–68. Mitton, L. (2009), Factors affecting compliance with rules: Understanding the behaviour and motivations behind customer fraud, Department for Work and Pensions Working Paper No. 67, London: Department for Work and Pensions. National Audit Office (NAO) (2011), Department for Work and Pensions: 2010–11 Accounts, London: The Stationery Office. Powell, M. (2002), The Hidden History of Social Citizenship, Citizenship Studies, 6, 2: 229–44. Rees, A. M. (1995), The promise of social citizenship, Policy and Politics, 23: 313–25. Saunders, P. and Deeming, C. (2011), The impact of the crisis on Australian social security policy in historical perspective, Social Policy & Administration, 45, 4: 371–88. Shaver, S. (2002), Australian Welfare Reform: From Citizenship to Supervision, Social Policy & Administration, 36, 4: 331–45. Smyth, P. (2002), British and European Influences on the ‘Australian Way’ from the 1980s, Social Policy & Administration, 36, 4: 426–42. Tunley, M. (2010), Need, greed or opportunity? An examination of who commits benefit fraud and why they do it, Security Journal, 1–18. Twine, F. (1994), Citizenship and Social Rights, London: Sage. Walsh, T. and Marston, G. (2010), Benefit overpayment, welfare fraud and financial hardship in Australia, Journal of Social Security Law, 17, 2: 100–25. Wells, C. and Quick, O. (2010), Lacey, Wells and Quick, Reconstructing Criminal Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

PY - 2012/8

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N2 - This article examines the nature of social citizenship for social security claimants in the UK and Australia, focusing on claimants suspected or convicted of minor social security fraud. It argues that claimants are excluded from social citizenship and that social security fraud legislation reinforces this exclusion. It proposes that social citizenship be redefined to more closely mirror T. H. Marshall’s vision of social citizenship, and suggests a new policy framework within which minor social security fraud could be decriminalized.

AB - This article examines the nature of social citizenship for social security claimants in the UK and Australia, focusing on claimants suspected or convicted of minor social security fraud. It argues that claimants are excluded from social citizenship and that social security fraud legislation reinforces this exclusion. It proposes that social citizenship be redefined to more closely mirror T. H. Marshall’s vision of social citizenship, and suggests a new policy framework within which minor social security fraud could be decriminalized.

KW - Social citizenship

KW - State welfare

KW - Social security fraud

KW - Exclusion

U2 - 10.1111/j.1467-9515.2012.00844.x

DO - 10.1111/j.1467-9515.2012.00844.x

M3 - Article

SN - 1467-9515

VL - 46

SP - 465

EP - 482

JO - Social Policy & Administration

JF - Social Policy & Administration

IS - 4

ER -

Social Citizenship and Social Security Fraud in the UK and Australia

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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Activities

Conditionality as moral hazard

Cite this