UK Inquiry Tracker

Tackling fraud and error in benefit expenditure 2024-25

Public Accounts Committee Open Inquiry

Opened: 10 Jul 2025 Parliament page

In 2023-24, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spent £268.5bn on benefit and pension payments. That same year, the National Audit Office (NAO) reported that benefit overpayments by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) were at £9.7bn, their highest ever level in cash terms, with the majority of … Read more In 2023-24, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spent £268.5bn on benefit and pension payments. That same year, the National Audit Office (NAO) reported that benefit overpayments by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) were at £9.7bn, their highest ever level in cash terms, with the majority of overpayments accounted for by Universal Credit. The DWP set out its approach to tackling fraud in 2022, with three main areas of activity: investing in counter-fraud professionals and data analytics, creating new legal powers, and working closely with the public and private sectors. The PAC has examined fraud and error in benefit expenditure extensively. Its January 2025 report on DWP Customer Service and its 2023-24 accounts warned that levels of fraud were unacceptably high, while finding that disability benefits claimants were at increased risk of hardship with underpayments also rising. The PAC considered that there was no reason why the DWP’s perception of an increasing propensity for fraud in society must inevitably lead to increasing losses to the taxpayer, and concluded that it is the DWP’s job to improve its defences and ensure benefit claimants receive the right amount of money. The National Audit Office (NAO) publishes two reports in this area in 2025 – the DWP Report on Accounts 2024-25, which sets out core trends in benefit fraud and error; and a separate study examining the effectiveness of DWP’s approach to tackling benefit overpayments due to fraud and error . Following the NAO’s two reports, the PAC will take evidence from senior DWP officials on topics including progress on reducing overpayments now and in the future, on building trust with claimants, and its use of machine learning to help identify cases of fraud. If you have evidence on these issues, please submit here by 23:59 on Thursday 20 November 2025. Please look at the requirements for written evidence submissions and note that the Committee cannot accept material as evidence that is published elsewhere. You can request anonymity or confidentiality when you send evidence, but it is the Committee which decides what information to publish and how. It may treat submissions confidentially, even where you have not requested this. Please note that the Committee’s inquiry cannot assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to read the information on Parliament’s website about who you can contact with different issues . Show less

14 Recommendations

16 Conclusions

1 Report

1 Oral session

6 Letters

1 Event

Activity timeline 10 events

21 May
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Chair to the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Work and Pensions relating to Treasury Minute – Tackling fraud and er…

7 Apr
2026

Report published

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Sixty-sixth report from Session 2024-26

12 Mar
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Director General Public Spending at HM Treasury relating to the Committee’s evidence session on 29 January 2026 on Governme…

11 Feb
2026

Report published

66th Report - Tackling fraud and error in benefit expenditure 2024-25

2 Feb
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the Committee’s evidence session on 04 December 202…

8 Jan
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the transcript of the Committee’s evidence session …

8 Jan
2026

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the Committee’s evidence session on 04 December on …

4 Dec
2025

Oral evidence

Oral evidence session

4 Dec
2025

Correspondence

Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Work and Pensions relating to OBR fraud and error forecast, 1 December 2025

4 Dec
2025

Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House

Committee event

Oral evidence sessions 1 session

4 Dec 2025

View on parliament.uk

Neil Couling CBE · Department of Work and Pensions Sir Peter Schofield KCB · Department for Work and Pensions Vikki Knight · Department of Work and Pensions

Reports 1 report · click to expand

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
66th Report - Tackling fraud and error in benefit expenditure 20…	HC 1231	11 Feb 2026	30	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

3 results

8 Recommendation Rejected

66th Report - Tackling fraud and e…

Challenges in controlling Universal Credit fraud relating to household composition persist

We asked the Department about its controls to prevent fraud and error, particularly in relation to Universal Credit. It said that, because it was monitoring controls, it was able to identify where there were possible weaknesses and make continuous improvements. … Read more

Government Response

The government disagrees with setting a more stretching ambition for reducing overpayment rate until it agrees with the NAO on what constitutes a cost-effective control environment, but aims to reduce fraud and error levels to 2.8% by 2028-29.

HM Treasury

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9 Recommendation Rejected

66th Report - Tackling fraud and e…

Cost-effective controls vital for DWP to achieve unqualified audit opinion

Demonstrating that it has a cost-effective control environment could help the Department move towards an unqualified audit opinion on its accounts.16 We made clear our desire to be involved in conversations with the Department and the C&AG about how the … Read more

Government Response

HM Treasury

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26 Conclusion Rejected

66th Report - Tackling fraud and e…

DWP to explore providing more feedback to public fraud reporters within legal confines.

We also asked the Department how it communicates with members of the public who raise concerns about potential cases of fraud, in particular what it tells them about how the cases have been resolved. The Department acknowledged the importance of … Read more

Government Response

The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation as there is generally no lawful basis to disclose investigation progress or results to third parties due to the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation, however the department continues to review and publicise its counter fraud activities.

HM Treasury

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Government Response AI assessment · 30 of 14 classified

Accepted 19

Accepted in Part 1

Acknowledged 3

Not Addressed 4

Rejected 3

Total 14 recs + 16 conclusions

Correspondence 6 letters

21 May 2026 To committee Letter from the Chair to the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Work and Pensions relating to Treasury Minute – Tackling fraud and error in benefit expenditure 2024-25, 21 May 2026

Parliament page

12 Mar 2026 To committee Letter from the Director General Public Spending at HM Treasury relating to the Committee’s evidence session on 29 January 2026 on Government Use of Data Analytics to Tackle Fraud and Error, 27 February 2026

Parliament page

2 Feb 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the Committee’s evidence session on 04 December 2025 on Tackling fraud and error in benefit expenditure 2024–25, 17 December 2025

Parliament page

8 Jan 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the transcript of the Committee’s evidence session on 04 December on Tackling fraud and error in benefit expenditure 2024-25, 17 December 2025

Parliament page

8 Jan 2026 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions relating to the Committee’s evidence session on 04 December on Tackling fraud and error in benefit expenditure 2024-25, 17 December 2025

Parliament page

4 Dec 2025 To committee Letter from the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Work and Pensions relating to OBR fraud and error forecast, 1 December 2025

Parliament page