Latest Government figures point to around 3.9% of benefts expenditure being overpaid or £8.4 billion. This is-
Fraud- 3%
Claimant Error- 0.6%
Offcial Error(DWP/LA/HMRC)- 0.4%
The total beneft bill was around £215 billion.
Universal Credit overpayments during the pandemic have been responsible for a lot of the increase. Remember around £13 billion per year goes unclaimed in means tested benefts alone each year.
Book now for our updated– Introduction to Benefits 2021 course.