Accredited official statistics

Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022 estimates

Estimates of fraud and error levels in the benefit system in Great Britain in the financial year 2021 to 2022.

• From: Department for Work and Pensions
• Published: 26 May 2022

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Documents

Fraud and error in the benefit system Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2022

Ref: ISBN 978-1-78659-422-8

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Tables: Fraud and error in the benefit system, 2021 to 2022 estimates (XLS)

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 421 KB

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Tables: Fraud and error in the benefit system, 2021 to 2022 estimates (ODS)

ODS, 254 KB

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Background information: Fraud and error in the benefit system statistics, 2021 to 2022 estimates

Ref: ISBN 978-1-78659-423-5

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Details

This report provides estimates of fraud and error levels in the benefit system in Great Britain for the financial year 2021 to 2022.

The main points from the report are:

• 4.0% of total benefit expenditure was overpaid due to fraud and error

• the estimated value of overpayments was £8.6 billion

• 1.2% of total benefit expenditure (or £2.6 billion) was underpaid due to fraud and error

• the net government loss, after recoveries, was £7.6 billion, or 3.5% of benefit expenditure

Send any comments or questions about the fraud and error estimates to: [email protected].

Published 26 May 2022