In 2022-23, payments were made by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) totalling £231 billion to over 20 million people. Demand for benefits is growing, with the number of claimants rising by over two million people since 2019. The DWP uses a range of measures to monitor performance, including customer satisfaction, and payment timeliness and accuracy. The DWP said in 2024 that it could not commit to substantially reducing fraud and error levels, based on its current plans.
In its report on the DWP’s 2023-24 Annual Report and Accounts, the DWP told the National Audit Office (NAO) that UC fraud and error levels were no longer expected to return to pre-pandemic levels. It said that this was due to an increasing propensity for fraud in society, with a 5% increase in fraudulent behaviour each year assumed in its forecasting. The report saw £9.7bn in estimated benefit overpayments due to fraud and error – the highest ever level in cash terms. The Comptroller and Auditor General has qualified his audit opinion of the 2023-24 accounts because of the material level of fraud and error in benefit expenditure.
The NAO’s 2024 report on DWP’s customer service noted that the DWP’s resources, ability to process claims and provide good customer service are under pressure in the wake of the pandemic, subsequent cost-of-living pressures and an increase in demand for benefits.
The Committee has long scrutinised the delivery of Universal Credit (UC), raising the alarm in April 2024 that vulnerable people risked losing their benefits as legacy claimants transitioned over to UC. It has also recently scrutinised customer service at HM Revenue & Customs, which it found in 2024 was at an all-time low.
Based on the two NAO reports, the Committee will take evidence from senior DWP officials, with likely focuses including:
- Fraud and error levels;
- DWP’s monitoring of customer service;
- Quality of service.
Please note the Committee is unable to consider or assist with individual cases. If you need help with an individual problem you are having, you may wish to contact your constituency MP.
If you have evidence on these issues please submit it here by 23:59 on Friday 22 November 2024.