The DWP said it is ramping up its efforts to detect errors
DWP officials have discussed their growing efforts to tackle benefit fraud. The announcement follows the introduction of new legislation designed to combat fraud and error within the benefits system. These measures include scrutinising the bank account details of people receiving certain benefits, to verify their eligibility.
The checks will initially apply to those claiming Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Employment and Support Allowance. The legislation indicates this scope could potentially be widened to cover other benefits. Fresh powers will also enable investigators to withdraw money directly from a person’s bank account if they owe money to the DWP and are refusing to repay it.
Senior DWP officials faced questions from the Work and Pensions Committee regarding the department’s drive to tackle fraudulent and incorrect payments within the benefits system. DWP permanent secretary, Peter Schofield, informed the committee this is “a big focus” for his department.
He explained there is a team working “at full pelt” on “targeted case review”, looking at cases where they can achieve savings by stopping incorrect payments. The DWP has received approximately £300million in funding for the current year toward this, which covers the cost of around 4,000 agents to investigate cases.
Mr Schofield said the department has succeeded in substantially reducing the proportion of fraudulent and incorrect payments for Universal Credit over the last two years.
Reviewing all the evidence
He provided reassurance that while they employ machine learning to identify suspected fraudulent payments, the final decision is always made by a human being. Mr Schofield clarified: “In our fraud and error work, we don’t stop any benefits without a human looking at this, reviewing all the evidence, from all sorts of different sources that they’ve got, including understanding markers of vulnerability or complex needs as well, and then making a decision off the back of that.”
He said that additional measures are being introduced to prevent incorrect payments from being issued in the first place. These include sending reminders to claimants to “let us know of a change in circumstance”, such as if a recipient has children over the age of 16, to inform the department whether they remain in full-time education.
You can receive an additional amount through Universal Credit if you have children, until they turn 16. Nevertheless, you can continue to receive the extra money until they reach 19, provided they are in full-time education or training.
The additional amount is £399 a month for your first child, if they were born before April 6, 2017, or £298.81 if they were born on or after this date. You receive £298.81 for your second child or any other additional children.
Currently, the additional amount is only available for your first two children, meaning you can receive up to £631.81 in extra support. However, this regulation is set to change from April 2026, following Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ announcement in the Autumn Budget 2025 that Labour would abolish the two-child limit that applies to certain benefits.
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