Dear Listener

First an apology. A couple of weeks ago I wrote here that child benefit would be rolled into the new Universal Credit. But I was wrong. Or rather I misinterpreted something that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions said which seemed clear at the time. It now seems that only six existing benefits will be part of the ‘Universal’ Credit. I count at least 22 others – including child benefit – which will not. More in the programme.

The Department for Work and Pensions has abandoned plans to use computer software to weed out people who tell untruths when making benefit claims. Voice Risk Analysis claims to be able to detect stress; and by analysing that stress it can distinguish truth from falsehood. But out of 23 pilots by the DWP analysing a total of 45,000 phone calls from people applying for various benefits or having them reviewed, the Voice Risk Analysis software was found to be a success in only five. Only three out of nine trials by local authorities on new benefit claims said the system worked well enough to highlight risk without raising too many false alarms and out of 12 local authorities who used it to review claims only one thought it was a success. The trials cost £2.4 million.

When Money Box looked at this story when the pilots began in 2007 we found no controlled scientific trials of the technique in the UK. The latest research we found was done in the USA in 2005. It showed that voice stress analysis flagged more than one in three truths as lies and a similar proportion of false statements were judged to be true. DWP says “we cannot conclude that VRA works effectively and consistently in the benefits environment.”

One day we may have software that can tell directly from brain activity when we tell the truth and when we tell a lie. But not for a long time yet. Honest.

***IN MONEY BOX THIS WEEK***

We talk to the company which several banks use to ‘activate’ our credit and debit cards but while it is doing so takes the opportunity to try to sell us card and ID ‘insurance’.

We subject the plans for benefit reform by Lord Freud to detailed analysis. Will he really get rid of the complex? The Minister himself is on the couch.

No more double jeopardy for financial firms; customers who successfully complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service cannot go to court as well.

One thousand and twenty four tax loopholes and exemptions have been listed for the first time and many of them may be scrapped in the spring Budget.

And HMRC says ‘on your bike’ to people who bought very expensive cycles through the tax-and-NI-free cycle to work scheme. They may now face payments of more than £100.

There may be more (an update on HelpLoan for example) but Radio 4 will as ever fade us out at 1228 so find out what we squeeze into our 24 minutes on Saturday at 1204. Or catch the repeat at 9pm on Sunday. Or listen again any time on our website www.bbc.co.uk/moneybox. There you can also read web pieces, download transcripts, follow links, and send us stories or ideas you want us to look into and Have Your Say on those insurance hard-sells or tax loopholes.

Best wishes,

Paul

PS don’t forget the programme trail on Breakfast on BBC 1 between 0845 and 0900 on Saturday.

e-mail Paul Lewis