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The country's biggest credit reference agency, Experian, signed a deal with the Government to act as their benefit fraud 'bounty hunters' sniffing out benefit cheats by following their incriminating paper-trails.

By examining household bills, employment records and credit card applications, Experian will be able to discover if claimants for single parent or sole occupant discounts and benefits are fraudulent.

Although the value of the contract is undisclosed, it is believed that Experian will receive bonuses for exceeding its targets. And since the HMRC expects to save around £700 million and the Department for Work and Pensions around £100 million, they can afford to offer a generous contract to Experian.

In April this year, the Government rolled out reassessment tests for people claiming incapacity benefit, a nationwide shake-up that affected around 1.6million people.

The test aims to place those deemed fit to work into a "work programme" scheme, while those who are not fit to work are to be given a new benefit called the Employment and Support Allowance.

But the results of the reassessment showed that nearly 40% of claimants were deemed fit to work, leading some to claim that the Government's reasons behind the test were simply "to save money".