A Clayton-Le-Moors councillor is backing Local Government Agency plans to help crack down on benefit fraud.
The LGA is calling for the simplification of the current system and asking the government to provide IT hardware to local authorities and the Benefit Agency to root out bogus claims.
Coun Tim O'Kane said: "The current system is causing a great deal of stress to innocent and vulnerable people.
"We should be cracking down on people who fiddle money from the system and should not be confusing pensioners with incessant demands to prove they are still alive.
"Improved IT services will cut out a lot of red tape."
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