The social services of the city of Winterthur have noticed more abusive payments – and still draw a positive balance.
Posted today at 11:31 am—
–Closer controls: The logo of the social services at the superblock.
Photo: Marc Dahinden
At first glance, the number is worrying: In 2020, unlawful payments were found in 7.3 percent of all social assistance cases in Winterthur. This means that in 344 of a total of 4,700 cases, funds were paid out to which the clients were not entitled. In previous years, the rate fluctuated between five and a little over six percent.
However, according to the city’s social services, the increase in 2020 is clearly due to tighter controls. The internal case audit, an independent control body within the social services, has checked each individual case at least once a year since 2019. In 2020 this came into full effect for the first time.
