0:00:02 > 0:00:04Here in the UK, we're lucky to have transport networks,
0:00:04 > 0:00:08legal aid and free healthcare.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10I'm incredibly grateful that the NHS exists,
0:00:10 > 0:00:12I have personally benefited from it.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14It enhances our general wellbeing,
0:00:14 > 0:00:16knowing that there is a safety net there.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20These services are mostly paid for by us, the taxpayer.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22And, on the whole, we don't mind.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26But what happens when someone tries to steal from the system?
0:00:26 > 0:00:30I think it's shocking that people lie to get benefits.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32I get very angry about people cheating,
0:00:32 > 0:00:34cos that's what it is, isn't it?
0:00:34 > 0:00:37It's outrageous, disgusting, and needs to be dealt with.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41With the economy as tough as it is, it's more important than ever
0:00:41 > 0:00:45that those who nick from the system don't get away with it...
0:00:45 > 0:00:49and those who need help get it.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52This is the world of Saints And Scroungers.
0:00:55 > 0:00:57Coming up, the scroungers
0:00:57 > 0:00:59out to cheat the system...
0:00:59 > 0:01:01A man who claims to be
0:01:01 > 0:01:03severely disabled,
0:01:03 > 0:01:04but still manages to be able
0:01:04 > 0:01:06to drive a bus for a living.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08There were no crutches,
0:01:08 > 0:01:09there was no wheelchair.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11And somebody who if you looked at,
0:01:11 > 0:01:13generally, you wouldn't think
0:01:13 > 0:01:14was a person who would be claiming
0:01:14 > 0:01:16the highest rate of disability benefits.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19..and those who are in need of a helping hand.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22A family determined to do whatever it takes
0:01:22 > 0:01:25to continue to care for their grandson at home.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28I think it would break his heart if he had to go somewhere,
0:01:28 > 0:01:30into residential care.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35And I love him, and I wouldn't have seen him go anywhere else.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45Ooh! Working when you're under the weather is not much fun.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48But back pain is different. If you've got it bad,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51it can prevent you from getting out of bed, full stop.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55There are some people, though,
0:01:55 > 0:01:58who are determined to put their back into cheating the benefits system.
0:02:01 > 0:02:0548-year-old Patrick Wildman knows all about back pain.
0:02:05 > 0:02:06He's been suffering with it
0:02:06 > 0:02:10since the early 1990s and has even undergone operations
0:02:10 > 0:02:14to put it right. Unfortunately, it left him with limited mobility,
0:02:14 > 0:02:18so he asked for government help to get by.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21Wildman lived in Plymouth, Devon's largest city.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Famous for its maritime heritage,
0:02:23 > 0:02:25it's home to a quarter of a million people,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28and Wildman was just one of the 18,500
0:02:28 > 0:02:30who claim Disability Living Allowance.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34Steve Cowell has the job of ensuring
0:02:34 > 0:02:36that all the claims are legitimate.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43There are many different types of benefit
0:02:43 > 0:02:47and they change quite regularly. So can you explain to me one of them?
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Disability Living Allowance. How does that work?
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Disability Living Allowance is financial support
0:02:53 > 0:02:56for disabled people. We're looking at, in the main,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58severely disabled claimants who would be entitled to it.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02It has different components. There's a care component
0:03:02 > 0:03:04and there's a mobility component,
0:03:04 > 0:03:07to determine if, for example, they're able to cook their own food,
0:03:07 > 0:03:11get in and out of the shower, in and out of the bath, that sort of thing.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15They then are judged to what criteria they would be placed in.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17So what sorts of sums of money are we talking about?
0:03:17 > 0:03:22We're looking at the basic rate, which would be around £21 a week,
0:03:22 > 0:03:26up to a maximum rate of about £138 a week.
0:03:26 > 0:03:27Now, presumably,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30the vast majority of people
0:03:30 > 0:03:33who claim Disability Living Allowance do so honestly.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37- That's not an issue, is it? - I think, to put it in perspective,
0:03:37 > 0:03:42the government supports disabled people to the tune of about £50 billion a year.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45But it would be an extremely small number of those claims
0:03:45 > 0:03:48that would be fraudulent. Extremely low.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51'Even though the number of fraudulent cases is small,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53'they can account for
0:03:53 > 0:03:56'a disproportionately large sum of money.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59'So it's vital for the department to investigate any suspicious claims.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02'What caused Patrick Wildman
0:04:02 > 0:04:04'to claim benefits in the first place?'
0:04:04 > 0:04:07In the early 1990s, Patrick Wildman
0:04:07 > 0:04:09was subjected to a car accident
0:04:09 > 0:04:12and had real pain to his lower back,
0:04:12 > 0:04:14resulting in complications
0:04:14 > 0:04:18following surgery, and osteoarthritis.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21He'd stated that he was unable to walk
0:04:21 > 0:04:24without the aid of crutches and adult support.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28He also stated he was unable to get in and out of bed without support,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32that he was unable to go to the toilet without support.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34So he claimed, and was awarded,
0:04:34 > 0:04:38Disability Living Allowance in 2002.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40The award then would have been just over £100 per week,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43rising with inflation to about £130 per week
0:04:43 > 0:04:46when the investigation commenced.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50'So when they started looking into his claim,
0:04:50 > 0:04:52'Wildman was in the highest mobility rate
0:04:52 > 0:04:55'and receiving over £6,500 a year.'
0:04:57 > 0:05:00So what was the first inkling that perhaps
0:05:00 > 0:05:03all was not as it was being painted?
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Mrs Wildman, his ex-wife, was claiming benefits in her own right
0:05:07 > 0:05:09whilst living in the same household
0:05:09 > 0:05:11as her husband still, Patrick Wildman.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Following an interview to review
0:05:14 > 0:05:15her benefit claim,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18she let slip in discussion
0:05:18 > 0:05:21that Patrick Wildman was working for City Bus.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24'Now, Wildman's ex was simply being interviewed
0:05:24 > 0:05:28'with regards to her own legitimate benefit claims.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30'She wasn't suspected of any wrongdoing.
0:05:30 > 0:05:34'But her statement about her ex-husband's potential employment
0:05:34 > 0:05:36'was enough to launch an investigation.'
0:05:36 > 0:05:38We take various serious steps
0:05:38 > 0:05:41to confirm the quality of the information received
0:05:41 > 0:05:44and, of course, in this case, we did check with the employer,
0:05:44 > 0:05:48who confirmed that Patrick Wildman was working for Plymouth City Bus.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52'Now, you are able to work while on Disability Living Allowance,
0:05:52 > 0:05:54'but alarm bells were ringing
0:05:54 > 0:05:56'as to whether he was, in fact, disabled at all.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58'The case was handed over
0:05:58 > 0:06:01'to the Department for Work and Pensions' counter-fraud team.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03'Due to the nature of his work,
0:06:03 > 0:06:06'this investigator has asked to remain anonymous.'
0:06:06 > 0:06:08We obtained his...
0:06:08 > 0:06:12Disability Living Allowance papers and, on checking those,
0:06:12 > 0:06:13the things that he claimed
0:06:13 > 0:06:15that were wrong with him
0:06:15 > 0:06:18seemed inconsistent with a job as a bus driver.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20'The next step for the investigator
0:06:20 > 0:06:23'was to contact the bus company directly.'
0:06:23 > 0:06:26They confirmed that he was working for them as a bus driver,
0:06:26 > 0:06:31and they were... quite happy with his work,
0:06:31 > 0:06:32which surprised us a little,
0:06:32 > 0:06:35obviously, given the disabilities he'd reported to us.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38Erm, and they said that his work was fine
0:06:38 > 0:06:41and he was driving the buses on a regular basis.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48They gave us copies of his application form
0:06:48 > 0:06:51and also a copy of his medical declaration.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54And he'd not told them of any disabilities
0:06:54 > 0:06:57that would affect his work or anything.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00'Wildman started driving buses in 2007,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04'five years after his original benefit claim.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06'So was this the only job he'd done
0:07:06 > 0:07:08'since he'd been on Disability Living Allowance?'
0:07:08 > 0:07:12We checked his National Insurance records and were surprised to find
0:07:12 > 0:07:16that there were two other jobs listed for Mr Wildman.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18The first job was for a window company,
0:07:18 > 0:07:22delivering PVC windows.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26Erm, he'd mentioned a back problem to them,
0:07:26 > 0:07:28even to the extent that, after a while,
0:07:28 > 0:07:30their company doctor was concerned that
0:07:30 > 0:07:33he wouldn't be able to continue with that job
0:07:33 > 0:07:34and he subsequently left it,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37but did not inform the department at all about that. Second job
0:07:37 > 0:07:39was for the local paper,
0:07:39 > 0:07:42delivering their papers to the shops
0:07:42 > 0:07:44for sale.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48And for them, he'd mentioned no disabilities whatsoever,
0:07:48 > 0:07:50and had that job for a couple of years,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53before going on to work for the bus company.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58'So Wildman had been doing three very physical jobs,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01'despite claiming he needed help to walk and even to go to the loo.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04'As the evidence against him was building up,
0:08:04 > 0:08:06'they now needed to catch him on camera.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08'The investigation team
0:08:08 > 0:08:11'had a whole range of sophisticated equipment on hand to help them.'
0:08:11 > 0:08:15Different cameras will be used depending on where the subject is,
0:08:15 > 0:08:17how far away we are.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Obviously, the video cameras are like the workhorse.
0:08:21 > 0:08:25They work on long-distance shots, they work out of the cars.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27The other type of cameras, the smaller ones,
0:08:27 > 0:08:31are used very much for close-up work and they're very good within,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34sort of, five feet to about 15 feet from the actual subject themselves,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37and obviously well-concealed.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39Obviously, the quality of video is quite important to us.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41So in the case of Patrick Wildman,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44what is it that you were trying to establish
0:08:44 > 0:08:46that you couldn't work out any other way?
0:08:46 > 0:08:48So, we know with Patrick Wildman,
0:08:48 > 0:08:49we know that he was working
0:08:49 > 0:08:51for three employers,
0:08:51 > 0:08:54two of the employers in the past.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56We know that with speaking to the employers,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59he hadn't declared any disability at all.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02He's telling us that he's unable to leave the house unaided
0:09:02 > 0:09:04and he needs help getting dressed and going to the toilet each day.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08So we just want to see what capabilities
0:09:08 > 0:09:11he's actually displaying while he's out of the house.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13'So would the surveillance team
0:09:13 > 0:09:17'be able to gather the information they needed? We'll see later.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27'For now, though, it's goodbye to the scroungers
0:09:27 > 0:09:28'trying to cheat the system
0:09:28 > 0:09:31'and hello to those who we call our saints,
0:09:31 > 0:09:34'people who do everything to make sure that
0:09:34 > 0:09:37'those in need of help get what they need.'
0:09:42 > 0:09:44Family. They're the people
0:09:44 > 0:09:47that should be there for you, no matter what.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49And for many disabled people,
0:09:49 > 0:09:53it's family members who provide most of their essential daily care.
0:09:53 > 0:09:58Those who dedicate their lives to looking after their loved ones
0:09:58 > 0:10:01need all the help and support that they can get.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04So it's slightly worrying to hear that
0:10:04 > 0:10:07some of that help may be taken away.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11'Sue and Paul Rutherford, from Pembrokeshire,
0:10:11 > 0:10:15'are full-time carers for their 13-year-old grandson, Warren,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17'who has an extremely rare chromosome disorder
0:10:17 > 0:10:20'called Potocki-Shaffer syndrome.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23'He's the only known case in the UK
0:10:23 > 0:10:25'and there are only around 40 cases in the world.'
0:10:27 > 0:10:30'He's autistic, to an extent. He has epilepsy.'
0:10:30 > 0:10:36He has learning difficulties, communication problems.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40He can't... Well, unless you know him very well, he can't communicate.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43'Warren's mother had had a straightforward pregnancy,
0:10:43 > 0:10:47'so the devastating diagnosis came completely out of the blue.'
0:10:47 > 0:10:50They discovered that this is what he had, you know,
0:10:50 > 0:10:54this chromosome deletion. He never used to cry like a normal baby.
0:10:54 > 0:11:01He'd sleep a lot and he had quite a few soft lumps in his head,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04which they thought were pressure bumps, due to the birth.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09But it turned out that it was all part of this condition.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11My daughter was only young when she had Warren
0:11:11 > 0:11:14and she coped with him quite well.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17And then she fell pregnant again.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20She had a little girl
0:11:20 > 0:11:22and she got postnatal depression.
0:11:22 > 0:11:24'To help her daughter,
0:11:24 > 0:11:27'Sue took over caring for her grandchildren,
0:11:27 > 0:11:30'and although her granddaughter went back to live with her mother,
0:11:30 > 0:11:32'Sue decided to carry on
0:11:32 > 0:11:35'looking after Warren herself, which isn't easy.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40'His condition means that he needs care 24 hours a day.'
0:11:40 > 0:11:44Warren's lovely to look after, but it is very hard work.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47I have to literally do everything for him.
0:11:47 > 0:11:52'When Warren was a toddler, it was easier for Sue to cope,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55'but as he grew older and heavier, life became harder
0:11:55 > 0:11:58'and the home she was living in wasn't ideal.'
0:11:59 > 0:12:02It was an old house and it was quite narrow.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05And we had a stairlift there.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09And when we got to the top, there was a hoist.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13And I didn't like getting him off that chair,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15right at the top of the stairs like that,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17I was a bit worried he was going to fall.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20It was quite scary, really.
0:12:21 > 0:12:22'Sue was struggling.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25'Her council house just wasn't practical for Warren.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28'But luckily, there was help out there.'
0:12:28 > 0:12:30The Home For Life Scheme came about because
0:12:30 > 0:12:34the key worker that used to visit in the old house...
0:12:36 > 0:12:39..kept on and on saying, this house just isn't big enough for Warren.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42And I think it was the council,
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Pembrokeshire Housing, and everybody...
0:12:44 > 0:12:48all decided that Warren was the most needy case.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51'Pembrokeshire Housing Association provides a small number
0:12:51 > 0:12:54'of specially-built bungalows for disabled people,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56'paid for, in part, by the Welsh Government.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59'Warren's home was built with his needs in mind,
0:12:59 > 0:13:04'which included a third bedroom, built primarily for a carer to use.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07To just make it easier for everybody, and...
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Warren could have a better quality of life.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12'Sue moved into the house in 2009
0:13:12 > 0:13:16'and, a year later, she met and married Paul.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18'Paul has health issues himself,
0:13:18 > 0:13:20'so although he wasn't able to help Sue
0:13:20 > 0:13:22'as much as he would've liked with Warren,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24'he did provide a lot of emotional support,
0:13:24 > 0:13:28'and Warren saw Paul as his granddad.'
0:13:28 > 0:13:31When he's wanted me, he shouts, "Granddad, Granddad, Granddad!"
0:13:31 > 0:13:36It's "Gan-dad," not "Granddad," but who cares?
0:13:36 > 0:13:40You know, it's fantastic. One word, worth a million.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42'Despite getting on themselves,
0:13:42 > 0:13:43'Paul and Sue were determined
0:13:43 > 0:13:45'to continue to look after Warren at home.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48'They did get respite care each week,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50'meaning a carer would look after Warren
0:13:50 > 0:13:52'for a few hours so they could get a break.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54'And things were working fine.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56'That was until the Spare Room Subsidy,
0:13:56 > 0:13:58'or Bedroom Tax, came into force.'
0:14:00 > 0:14:05From 1st April 2013, the Bedroom Tax has come into force.
0:14:05 > 0:14:12And given their situation with Warren, Paul and Sue thought it would never apply to them.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Well, when we first became aware of the Bedroom Tax,
0:14:15 > 0:14:18it was about December last year, I think it was.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21When the form came through,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24she opened it and she said, "You're not going to believe this."
0:14:24 > 0:14:28Handed it to me, and I said, "I don't believe that, they've made a mistake."
0:14:28 > 0:14:30'The Spare Room Subsidy, or Bedroom Tax,
0:14:30 > 0:14:34'means that anyone in social housing who's under-occupying their house
0:14:34 > 0:14:36'has to pay for any spare rooms.
0:14:36 > 0:14:42'For Sue and Paul, it meant that their third bedroom was about to make their home unaffordable.'
0:14:42 > 0:14:44'They had no spare cash
0:14:44 > 0:14:48'and were facing the agonising reality of being forced to downsize
0:14:48 > 0:14:51'and having to put Warren into care.'
0:14:51 > 0:14:55I think it would break his heart if he had to go somewhere, into residential care.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00And I love him, and I wouldn't have seen him go anywhere else.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04'Sue and Paul heard that the council had the power to award
0:15:04 > 0:15:08'a discretionary housing payment to people in their situation,
0:15:08 > 0:15:12'so they applied. But the forms were hardly straightforward.'
0:15:12 > 0:15:17We just couldn't believe it. The detail we ended up giving them
0:15:17 > 0:15:22to sort of show how our weekly shop ended up at...
0:15:22 > 0:15:26£100 one week, 150 another, 50 another, perhaps.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29'The Rutherfords also had to list
0:15:29 > 0:15:31'all the benefits they were receiving,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33'but hoped that would be enough
0:15:33 > 0:15:36'for them to qualify for the payment they so desperately needed.'
0:15:36 > 0:15:40We got this letter back from the council saying,
0:15:40 > 0:15:46"You have £99.22p - or something - a week extra income."
0:15:46 > 0:15:50We just...couldn't believe it.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52Sue looked at me and she said,
0:15:52 > 0:15:54"Where is this money supposed to be coming from?"
0:15:54 > 0:15:57'The council believed that they had additional income
0:15:57 > 0:16:01'because they took into account Warren's Disability Living Allowance.
0:16:01 > 0:16:06'But that was being used for his care needs and medical equipment,
0:16:06 > 0:16:10'so although it looked like they had spare money, this really wasn't the case.
0:16:10 > 0:16:15We thought, well, we just can't afford to pay this
0:16:15 > 0:16:19and keep Warren's life going as...
0:16:19 > 0:16:22We might have to say we can't take him out or something.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26Then he'd start getting fed up. Cut down on meals.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29'The Rutherfords didn't know where to turn next,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32'so they started looking on the internet.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34'And when they saw others online with similar stories,
0:16:34 > 0:16:38'they decided to put up a post about their own situation.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42'That's how the Papworth Trust became aware of their story.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46'Nina Zamo is their Policy and Campaigns Manager.'
0:16:46 > 0:16:48We were really surprised that
0:16:48 > 0:16:49the Rutherfords had been turned down
0:16:49 > 0:16:51for a discretionary housing payment.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53They seemed like such a needy case.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55They were living in a specially-adapted property
0:16:55 > 0:16:58and there wasn't really anywhere for them to downsize to.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01'And if they were forced into a smaller, unadapted property,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04'then they would no longer be able to look after Warren.'
0:17:05 > 0:17:10Warren would need to go into residential care, which would be at a cost of about £5,000 a week.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14'That's over a quarter of a million pounds a year.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17'It's money the Rutherfords are effectively saving the Government
0:17:17 > 0:17:19'by caring for their grandson at home.
0:17:19 > 0:17:24'The Trust called Paul and Sue to see what support they could offer.
0:17:24 > 0:17:25We were sort of at our wits' end
0:17:25 > 0:17:28before the Papworth got in touch with us.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30We didn't really know what to do.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33'The Trust offered to publicise their case
0:17:33 > 0:17:38'by running a media campaign on TV, radio, and in national newspapers.'
0:17:38 > 0:17:42We were really keen to get the Rutherfords' story out there publicly
0:17:42 > 0:17:47because we knew that they'd reached a dead end and there was nowhere else really for them to go.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49We thought that helping them to share their story
0:17:49 > 0:17:54would also encourage other disabled people to share how they've been affected by the Spare Room Subsidy.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58'In the months following, the council reassessed the Rutherfords' case.'
0:17:58 > 0:18:01Finally, the family had the news it had been waiting for.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05The discretionary housing payment had been granted,
0:18:05 > 0:18:07but only for one year.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11Their battle was far from over.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16'Apart from gaining them publicity, the Trust advised the couple on how to fight their corner
0:18:16 > 0:18:20'and keep abreast on how legislation was being looked at.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23'The advice and support has been fantastic for the Rutherfords.'
0:18:23 > 0:18:27What difference has getting the discretionary housing payment made to you?
0:18:27 > 0:18:31Well, it's taken the pressure off us, for a start,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34knowing that we wouldn't have to move,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37but that's only for the short-term, really.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40We would hate for Warren to have to go into care,
0:18:40 > 0:18:42because that's what would happen if we had to move.
0:18:42 > 0:18:47It's a purpose-built house, there's nowhere else for us to move to,
0:18:47 > 0:18:51at all, it's just... The place doesn't exist.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53'Sue and Paul desperately want to be able to afford
0:18:53 > 0:18:55'to keep Warren at home with them.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59'And the Trust is hoping they can help them do this.'
0:18:59 > 0:19:01How did you feel before? Were you very stressed?
0:19:01 > 0:19:06Yeah, yeah. I think because Paul knows he's got somebody backing him up now,
0:19:06 > 0:19:11he can fight harder. It's given him that extra confidence.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Although it's the scariest thing we've ever had to do in our lives,
0:19:14 > 0:19:18we need to do something about it.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22And it's our hope that we can get his future sorted out now,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25while we're both still around.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28'With the support of charities led by Child Poverty Action,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31'Paul's now taking his case all the way to the top,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34'to challenge the Department for Work and Pensions.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37'He's trying to bring about a change to the legislation
0:19:37 > 0:19:42'by adding an exemption for everyone who needs a spare room for carers
0:19:42 > 0:19:43'who help to look after children.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45'There's still a long way to go.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48'So what does Sue hope the future holds for Warren?'
0:19:48 > 0:19:52I'm just hoping that he'll be able to stay in this house,
0:19:52 > 0:19:57with his spare bedroom, and live happily, with no stress.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00You know, he deserves that.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02It makes your day when you see him smiling.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14'Now it's time to return to the world of our devious scroungers.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19'48-year-old Patrick Wildman,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22'from Plymouth, had claimed to be severely disabled,
0:20:22 > 0:20:27'so he'd been receiving Disability Living Allowance since 2002.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29'But after his ex-wife
0:20:29 > 0:20:31'inadvertently told the Benefit Office
0:20:31 > 0:20:34'he was driving a bus for a living, alarm bells started to ring.
0:20:34 > 0:20:39'Before they could take the case any further, though, they needed hard evidence.'
0:20:39 > 0:20:41Paper evidence is very good,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44but surveillance evidence tells its own story.
0:20:46 > 0:20:49If people are put under surveillance and they're not aware of it,
0:20:49 > 0:20:53you actually get a true picture of their actual mobility positions
0:20:53 > 0:20:55and what they can and cannot do,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58which is always considered the best evidence you can have.
0:20:58 > 0:21:04Seeing somebody do something is worth a thousand bits of paper.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08We needed to establish exactly the levels of his ability,
0:21:08 > 0:21:11how far he could walk, what sort of care he was taking,
0:21:11 > 0:21:13what sort of care
0:21:13 > 0:21:15he was being given. Because the actual job
0:21:15 > 0:21:17he was doing as a bus driver,
0:21:17 > 0:21:19obviously, there is a certain safety aspect to that,
0:21:19 > 0:21:22and somebody who has care needs and mobility issues,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25certainly, that is a problem.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29Luckily, the bus company concerned was able to provide us
0:21:29 > 0:21:32with details of his application form,
0:21:32 > 0:21:34medicals and the rota he was on,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37which enabled us to establish
0:21:37 > 0:21:40when he would be at a certain location, at a certain time.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44'The surveillance operation was carefully planned.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46'They were filming Wildman in a public area
0:21:46 > 0:21:48'and needed to be able to move around
0:21:48 > 0:21:50'and follow him without detection,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53'so they used covert cameras.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57'The surveillance began.'
0:22:02 > 0:22:03Where the bus would arrive
0:22:03 > 0:22:06and he'd get off for his break, we could watch him
0:22:06 > 0:22:07during his time in the city centre,
0:22:07 > 0:22:10literally across the road from where we are currently.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17We also put an officer onto the bus
0:22:17 > 0:22:22with a camera that was capable of recording Mr Wildman driving the bus.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25MUFFLED SPEECH
0:22:25 > 0:22:27'And then we followed him'
0:22:27 > 0:22:29literally on foot round the city centre,
0:22:29 > 0:22:31and we did that for three days
0:22:31 > 0:22:32whilst he took his breaks
0:22:32 > 0:22:33from driving the bus.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42There were no crutches, there was no wheelchair, no walking aids,
0:22:42 > 0:22:43and somebody who if you looked at,
0:22:43 > 0:22:45generally, you just wouldn't think
0:22:45 > 0:22:47was a person who would be claiming
0:22:47 > 0:22:50the highest rate of disability benefits.
0:22:55 > 0:22:56That was enough for us
0:22:56 > 0:22:59to consider sending the case to the decision-maker.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03'After the team had finished filming,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05'the evidence was reviewed
0:23:05 > 0:23:08'and Wildman was invited for an interview under caution
0:23:08 > 0:23:10'to give his side of the story.'
0:23:12 > 0:23:15He was called in for interview in January 2010
0:23:15 > 0:23:19and was interviewed by a couple of our investigators.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24They asked questions about his mobility allowance
0:23:24 > 0:23:26and his care allowance,
0:23:26 > 0:23:28and went through his claim form
0:23:28 > 0:23:32and confirmed that the information he'd given was correct,
0:23:32 > 0:23:36and then discussed about the jobs that he had.
0:23:38 > 0:23:39He was also asked about
0:23:39 > 0:23:40his medical questionnaire
0:23:40 > 0:23:43that he completed for the bus company
0:23:43 > 0:23:46and he basically said, "Yeah, I lied a bit on that."
0:23:46 > 0:23:49When asked what he meant by that, he said,
0:23:49 > 0:23:51"Well, I didn't tell them about my back problem."
0:23:51 > 0:23:54Asked why he didn't tell them, he said,
0:23:54 > 0:23:56"Well, I wouldn't have got the job, would I?"
0:23:57 > 0:24:01He was shown the actual DVD, an edited DVD of the footage
0:24:01 > 0:24:04that we'd taken whilst on surveillance.
0:24:04 > 0:24:05He was asked questions like,
0:24:05 > 0:24:07"Can you tell us what you're doing here?"
0:24:07 > 0:24:10He said, "Walking." He was asked how briskly he was walking,
0:24:10 > 0:24:16to which he said, "I don't know. Well, it varies from day to day.
0:24:16 > 0:24:21"I wear patches. I've got pain."
0:24:21 > 0:24:24When the officer said to him, "We're talking a distance in this bit,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27"that we've just seen of about 110 metres,"
0:24:27 > 0:24:30Mr Wildman said, "Which is what I said, I don't know.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32"I don't understand distances."
0:24:32 > 0:24:35Which, as a bus driver, seemed a little bit strange.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Basically, he was shown the whole of
0:24:37 > 0:24:40the edited footage that was taken
0:24:40 > 0:24:43of various things, of him walking round the town centre
0:24:43 > 0:24:45on three different days,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48and obviously, pictures of him driving the bus, as well.
0:24:49 > 0:24:51And he said, towards the end,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54"As far as I'm concerned, I wasn't doing anything wrong."
0:24:54 > 0:24:57'Ah, well, maybe, but the department thought he was,
0:24:57 > 0:24:59'as they believed he'd claimed
0:24:59 > 0:25:03'£27,000 he wasn't entitled to.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06'But it wasn't just the Department for Work and Pensions
0:25:06 > 0:25:08'that he'd been squeezing money from.'
0:25:08 > 0:25:11When we interviewed Patrick Wildman under caution,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13he also told us that he'd represented
0:25:13 > 0:25:16to Social Services that he was severely disabled
0:25:16 > 0:25:18and had modifications to his house,
0:25:18 > 0:25:21including wheelchair access
0:25:21 > 0:25:24and modifications to his toilet.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26The modifications were a sizeable amount,
0:25:26 > 0:25:29in the region of in excess of £20,000.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33'It's one way of getting your house made over.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38'The evidence stacked up and the case finally went to court in 2013.
0:25:38 > 0:25:39'But when Wildman turned up,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42'he wasn't as agile as he'd appeared
0:25:42 > 0:25:43'in the surveillance footage.'
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Patrick Wildman attended court in a wheelchair,
0:25:48 > 0:25:52trying to represent the fact that he was severely disabled,
0:25:52 > 0:25:54despite evidence to the contrary.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58But, I mean, you'd seen him, you'd witnessed him driving a bus,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01walking around town. Was it convincing?
0:26:01 > 0:26:04It certainly wasn't convincing for us, in lieu of the heavy evidence.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07And, in fact, he didn't seem very comfortable
0:26:07 > 0:26:09operating the wheelchair in court.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12In fact, one of the court officials had to say in open court
0:26:12 > 0:26:17that he didn't appear to have used a wheelchair before.
0:26:18 > 0:26:20It was quite a different scenario
0:26:20 > 0:26:23from the person that had been seen and filmed on the surveillance
0:26:23 > 0:26:25to actually seeing him in a wheelchair.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29'In his defence, Wildman stated that
0:26:29 > 0:26:30'he had informed the DWP
0:26:30 > 0:26:33'about his bus-driving work in 2009,
0:26:33 > 0:26:36'but this was dismissed as non-voluntary declaration
0:26:36 > 0:26:39'as he'd only done so after discovering that the department
0:26:39 > 0:26:42was looking into his case. He also stated that
0:26:42 > 0:26:45'his condition had since worsened.
0:26:45 > 0:26:47'But regardless of his current health,
0:26:47 > 0:26:50'how could he defend the agility we saw in the surveillance?'
0:26:52 > 0:26:56During the court case, obviously, Mr Wildman had been discovered
0:26:56 > 0:26:58to have had two additional jobs,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02one as a delivery driver for a window company
0:27:02 > 0:27:06and another one as a delivery driver for a newspaper company.
0:27:06 > 0:27:10During the court case, he indicated to the court
0:27:10 > 0:27:12that with both of those jobs,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15his wife had come with him,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18hidden round the corner until he had gone in and loaded up
0:27:18 > 0:27:20both the windows and the papers,
0:27:20 > 0:27:22then joined him in the van
0:27:22 > 0:27:27and then unloaded the papers herself when they were out on the job.
0:27:27 > 0:27:31Having seen his wife and the fact that she is not a very tall lady
0:27:31 > 0:27:33or a very large lady,
0:27:33 > 0:27:37it would seem very difficult for her to lift those items in particular.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42'Unbelievable. The jury didn't accept his story
0:27:42 > 0:27:45'and he was found guilty of one count of failing to declare
0:27:45 > 0:27:48'a change in circumstances.'
0:27:48 > 0:27:50So what was the result?
0:27:50 > 0:27:51He got
0:27:51 > 0:27:5336 months' imprisonment,
0:27:53 > 0:27:55suspended for two years.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57But in terms of the money
0:27:57 > 0:27:58that's been overpaid,
0:27:58 > 0:28:01what's happened to that? Any chance of seeing that?
0:28:01 > 0:28:05We identified a £27,600 overpayment
0:28:05 > 0:28:08and the department reserves the right to recover the money
0:28:08 > 0:28:11direct from any future benefit entitlement,
0:28:11 > 0:28:13or indeed, if there is no benefit claimed,
0:28:13 > 0:28:15to recover the money civilly.