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

Select Committee
Public Accounts Committee HC 1231 11 February 2026
Report Status Government responded
Conclusions & Recommendations 30 items (14 recs)
Source View on Parliament website
Government Response (AI assessment · 30 of 30 classified)
Accepted 19
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 3
Not Addressed 4
Rejected 3
Government response
Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Sixty-sixth report from Session 2024-26 · published 7 Apr 2026
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Recommendations & Conclusions

3 results
10 Conclusion Acknowledged
Official error in benefit payments remains substantial and is increasing
Conclusion
Official error occurs when a benefit is paid incorrectly due to action, delay or a mistake by the Department, a local authority or HM Revenue & Customs.18 In 2024–25, official error overpayments were estimated at £1.0 billion, up from £0.8 … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department reports on its plans to improve payment accuracy and address the root causes of fraud and error each year in the Annual Report and Accounts (ARA), including official error overpayments and underpayments.
HM Treasury
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11 Conclusion Acknowledged
DWP’s root cause analysis overlooks official error, focusing on claimant fraud
Conclusion
In its 2024–25 annual report and accounts, the Department published information on some of the work it had done to identify and tackle the root causes of fraud and error, particularly on Universal Credit through activities such as its Targeted … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department reports on its plans to improve payment accuracy and address the root causes of fraud and error each year in the Annual Report and Accounts (ARA), including official error overpayments and underpayments.
HM Treasury
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25 Conclusion Acknowledged
DWP launches "Tell DWP" campaign and expands online reporting for changing circumstances.
Conclusion
The Department outlined what it was doing to make it easier for people to report changes of circumstances.48 It highlighted a campaign that it would be launching in January 2026—”Tell DWP”—to help customers identify what they need to declare and … Read more
Government Response Summary
The department has established a comprehensive evaluation approach to assess the impact of the ‘Tell DWP’ communications campaign on claimant reporting behaviour and will publish findings from these evaluation activities.
HM Treasury
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