(BVI News) – Minister for Social Development Marlon Penn said the government will be looking to take action to recuperate any funds issued to people under the House of Assembly Assistance Grant Programme once investigations indicate they were not qualified for those grants.
Speaking at a press conference earlier this week, Penn said the government will be transitioning to a new system of public assistance grants with the Social Development Department holding sole responsibility for distributing grants.
The minister said there will be a three-month transitional period where each grant recipient will be assessed to determine if they are eligible for enrolment into the Public Assistance Programme.
“For persons who do not qualify for Public Assistance, benefit payments will stop at the end of September. However, if any fraud or deception is discovered during the assessment process, grant payments will cease immediately, and steps are taken to recover any fraudulent payments,” Penn said.
The Social Development Minister said he did not want to prejudice any investigations taking place, but he noted people will be held responsible based on the result of the assessment done by the Social Development Department.
