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A newly-qualified junior doctor, Dr Ramkali Kaur, 28, has been suspended from medical practice for four months after being found guilty of misconduct for fraudulently claiming 10,000 in state benefits during her medical degree. This individual case of welfare abuse comes as the government doubles down on a major national effort to recoup billions lost to fraud and error across the system.
Dr Kaur, who was a high-achieving, first-generation British Asian university student from a deprived suburb of Birmingham, was found to have illegally obtained housing benefit, income support, and carers allowance over a two-year period, from 2016 to 2018, while enrolled in her demanding five-year medical programme at Queen Mary University in London. Her failure to notify the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of her change in status from a carer to a full-time student was at the heart of the offence.
A High-Achiever's Challenging Background
Dr Kaur’s personal story is one of significant academic success against a backdrop of socioeconomic adversity. She gained entry to the prestigious King Edward Handsworth School for Girls—a selective grammar school—and became the first in her family to attend university. Her ethnic identity is British Asian, and she hails from a challenging area of Birmingham, making her career in medicine a notable achievement.
The fraud originated from a legitimate claim for Carers Allowance, which she initiated after a devastating house fire that necessitated her caring for a close family member immediately following her A-levels. This role ceased when she left for medical school, but the benefit payments continued.
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At her Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) hearing in Manchester, Dr Kaur claimed she was "very loyal and obedient to her family" but insisted that an unnamed, "overbearing" female relative, whom she cared for, encouraged her to take on extra responsibility and later failed to inform the DWP of her change in circumstances as promised. She was convicted of three benefit fraud offences in 2022 and received a two-year conditional discharge from Birmingham magistrates.
Dishonesty, Arrest, and Suspension
The full scale of her dishonesty extended into her professional life. After graduating, Dr Kaur began work as an FY1 doctor at Hereford County Hospital. In 2022, a year after graduating, she was arrested at Heathrow Airport in connection with the claims, an ordeal which saw her held overnight.
Furthermore, she lied to her clinical tutor during a back-to-work meeting in October 2022, falsely claiming she had "only just become" aware of the prosecution. She had also previously circled 'no' on her registration forms when asked if she was subject to any legal action. While she eventually referred herself to the General Medical Council (GMC) and admitted the fraud, insisting the 10,000 was repaid, the MPTS found her evidence inconsistent and evasive.
The MPTS chairman, Mrs Emma Gilberthorpe, stated that Dr Kaur’s actions showed a "repeated pattern of behaviour" and a failure to act with honesty and integrity. The Tribunal questioned the plausibility of her claims that she received no bank correspondence relating to the payments, finding her evidence vague. Consequently, Dr Kaur was found guilty of misconduct and suspended for four months.
The National Benefit Fraud Crackdown
Dr Kaur's case is being heard at a time when the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is actively escalating the government’s efforts to tackle welfare fraud and error. As part of a recent budget statement, Ms Reeves announced an extension of the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) benefit fraud crackdown, with a key objective to save 1.2 billion by March 2031.
This ongoing initiative centres on the extension of the Targeted Case Review (TCR) scheme, which was established in 2022 specifically to root out inaccuracies, overpayments, and emerging fraud patterns within Universal Credit claims. The DWP aims to scale this effort rapidly, with a target of nearly 6,000 full-time equivalent reviewing agents in place by March 2025. This major push is anticipated to save over 13 billion in Annually Managed Expenditure by March 2030, demonstrating the serious, national focus on preventing public funds from being paid to those not entitled to them. Dr Kaur's actions, which showed "reckless disregard for professional standards," fall squarely within the type of dishonesty the government is vigorously seeking to eliminate from the welfare system.
