A NEW-look 'fraud squad' is helping St Helens Council win the battle against benefit cheats.

The council's benefit fraud team has been increased from a small core of two officers with five temporary staff, to nine full-time, permanent employees. During the past year they have taken four benefit fraud cases to court, while three more are pending. The team also dealt with 1,100 cases, saving the council £430,000 and stopping further abuse of the system.

Supporting the crack team is a new state-of-the-art computer system which is coming to the aid of genuine benefits seekers by helping to speed up and keep track of claims, as well as providing up-to-date advice on the range of entitlements. Around 90 per cent of new claims are processed within 14 days.

The revamped benefits unit is headed by a new treasurer and improved management structure to support the continuing fight to reduce the opportunity to commit benefit fraud while, at the same time, making sure that legitimate claimants receive their full entitlement. The move follows a routine report by the Benefits Fraud Inspectorate who, after visiting the council last June, recommended ways in which the operation of the benefits system could be improved and modernised. Currently the council pays out £48 million to its 38,000 claimants, money funded fromcentral government.

The council's chief executive of finance, Peter Yates, said: "Rapid response by St Helens has led to ground-breaking improvements. We welcomed the report and have taken on board their recommendations to build on our existing benefits service. We are inviting the inspectorate back this summer to see the new system in action.