Ministers have vowed to make significant efforts to save taxpayers’ money following the revelation that £8.3 billion was overpaid in benefits last year. This amount is more than double the pre-Covid figure. The Department of Work and Pensions’ accounts have not been fully signed off by auditors for the 35th year in a row due to the high levels of fraud and error in benefits spending. In the DWP’s annual report, the increase in fraud and error was attributed to the government’s introduction of “necessary easements” in the benefits system during the coronavirus crisis.
Work and Pensions Secretary, Mel Stride, acknowledged that there is still work to be done to combat fraud, but he emphasized that the fraud and error rates decreased last year and that further efforts will be made to reduce them. As part of these efforts, the DWP has set a new target to save at least £1.3 billion this financial year through its counter fraud and error teams, an increase from the £1.1 billion saved last year.
Mr. Stride stated, “Our tightened fraud controls and checks resulted in a significant reduction in fraud and error in the last year, and now we are seeing the tide start to turn. It is crucial that we continue to prevent abuse of the welfare system and set a new target to save £1.3 billion in the next year and root out fraud wherever we find it.”
Tom Pursglove, the DWP minister responsible for tackling fraud, added that their teams are working tirelessly to prevent fraudulent claims and expose those who exploit the system. He acknowledged the evolving tactics used by criminals and stressed the importance of working towards the ambitious new target to protect taxpayers’ money.
According to the DWP’s annual report, the rate of benefit overpayments decreased from 4% in 2021-22 to 3.6% last year. Additionally, £3.3 billion was found to be underpaid in benefits, surpassing the £2.6 billion underpayment in the previous year.
Out of the £8.3 billion in benefits overpaid last year, approximately £6.4 billion was attributed to fraud, £1.4 billion to claimant error, and £0.6 billion to official error. Notably, £410 million was overpaid in cost of living payments, with the majority of that amount (£310 million) being due to fraud.
The DWP’s total expenditure last year exceeded £230 billion, including nearly £95 billion on benefits for working-age individuals and over £137 billion on pensioners.
The head of the National Audit Office, Gareth Davies, qualified the audit opinion on the DWP’s accounts for 2022-23 due to the significant levels of fraud and error in benefit expenditure. This marks the 35th consecutive year that the accounts have not been fully signed off.
[Note: The article was not provided for review.]
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