The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed it is closely monitoring five major benefits between now and next spring as part of a crackdown on rule-breaking. The DWP is checking these benefits for signs of fraud and error in an effort to bring down the welfare bill.
Benefits Under Review
The DWP stated: "The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) publishes Accredited Official Statistics about the levels of fraud and error in the DWP benefit system. They estimate the amount of money overpaid and underpaid to claimants and are an important metric that is included in the department’s annual report and accounts and audited by the National Audit Office."
Management information, data, and analysis are regularly provided to officials within the department, allowing trends to be identified promptly and issues addressed, ensuring a continued focus on the issue of fraud and error. This document explains how we plan to release these statistics in future.
For the next financial year, the DWP is measuring five specific benefits for fraud and error:
- Universal Credit
- Housing Benefit (pension age, non-passported cases)
- Pension Credit
- State Pension
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
Publication Plans
The DWP said: "We intend to publish our FYE 2027 estimates in May 2027. For more information about the information within this document, please email us: enquiries.fema@dwp.gov.uk." The Accredited Official Statistics can be found in the collection of Fraud and Error in the Benefit System.
Rising Overpayments
Last year, benefit claimants were overpaid almost £10 billion amid a rise in fraud by welfare cheats. Overpayments because of fraud and error totalled £9.9 billion in the financial year to April, up from £9.4 billion in the previous 12 months, according to the DWP. The figure marks a threefold increase on the £3.3 billion in overpayments recorded a decade ago. Of the £9.9 billion overpaid last year, £6.8 billion – or more than two-thirds – was estimated to be fraudulent.
