Fraud and error in the benefit system
Estimates of fraud and error levels in the benefit system in Great Britain.
These statistical reports provide estimates of fraud and error for benefits administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and local authorities.
Accompanying each estimate report, we also publish data tables that provide the user with detailed estimates by different types of fraud and error.
Statistical reports for the periods from 2006 to 2010 can be found in the National Archives.
For further information on future releases of these statistics, please see the Fraud and error in the benefit system: release strategy.
Find future DWP fraud and error estimate release dates on the statistics release calendar and other DWP statistics on the Statistics at DWP page.
Please email us for feedback or more information: enquiries.fema@dwp.gov.uk
Changes to the latest release
The following changes incorporate minor adjustments reflecting operational and policy changes, as well as small revisions arising from a methodological review. These updates do not have a material impact on the Fraud and Error (F&E) estimates. Figures published for Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2025 have been restated to reflect these changes and enable accurate comparisons over time.
Further detail on these changes has been included in the Background Information and Methodology note that is published alongside the FYE 2026 statistics.
Change to the ‘failure to provide evidence’ adjustment
The ‘failure to provide evidence’ error reason category applies when claimants do not supply requested evidence and the claim terminated, with fraud assumed. After four months, these cases are reviewed to see whether there is any new evidence to allow reclassification or removal of the error.
Historically, Universal Credit (UC) cases that have reclaimed have had their payment reinstated without any further checks, meaning errors could not be removed. Now, returning UC cases are checked, and outstanding evidence is requested and verified before payment resumes. Where evidence is provided and checked, we now remove the associated assumed fraud.
Consistency of recording Fraud and Error and Unfulfilled Eligibility where a change of circumstances does not impact the claimant’s award
We identified inconsistencies in our recording of errors and unfulfilled eligibility, where a change of circumstances does not impact the claimant’s award. To ensure consistent measurement and accurate reporting of the loss to the public purse, we are no longer recording any F&E or unfulfilled eligibility that occurs on the same element of a claim when the award amount remains unchanged.
Where the award is affected, we will record a single overpayment or unfulfilled eligibility value, calculated as the difference between the impact of the error and the impact of the unfulfilled eligibility. This only applies when the claimant is responsible for both the overpayment and the unfulfilled eligibility - if the overpayment is due to Official Error, then both will continue to be recorded separately.
Change to Winter Fuel Payment proxy measurement
Some benefits have very low levels of expenditure and are therefore unlikely to be selected for measurement. For these unreviewed benefits, we apply a proxy measure by using either the F&E rate from a comparable benefit or the loss-of-entitlement rate from the relevant passporting benefit. This proxy rate is then applied to the expenditure for the unreviewed benefit to estimate the monetary value of F&E.
Recent changes to the eligibility rules for Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) mean that it is no longer passported from Pension Credit. As a result, the previous proxy – based on the Pension Credit loss-of-entitlement rate – is no longer appropriate. We have therefore reverted to the proxy used in FYE 2024, which draws on the results from the Social Fund Service Centre Measurement used in the department’s Social Fund accounts.
Correction to State Pension expenditure for FYE 2025
The expenditure figure used for State Pension in FYE 2025 was incorrect. Although the State Pension rates were unaffected, the monetary amount of State Pension overpaid and underpaid was overstated. As State Pension makes up around half of total expenditure, this also resulted in a small impact on the overall benefit figure.
In the latest release we will correct this issue, restate the State Pension monetary values and include the updated expenditure within the restated overall benefit figures.
Correction to figures contained with the net loss table for FYE 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022
Net loss - shown in our supplementary tables - is the total overpaid in a year, minus debt recovered, expressed as a percentage of expenditure.
In recent years we have updated the methodology for calculating the monetary value of fraud and error (MVFE) and have restated historic figures to ensure fair comparisons. Although we updated the MVFE figures for FYE 2018, 2020, 2021 and 2022 within our main MVFE tables (tables 1 and 2 within the supplementary tables), we did not revise the corresponding net loss table (table 14), including the net loss percentage.
Most revisions are minor, so overall net loss trends are unaffected. However, table 14 also breaks down the components of net loss – including the MVFE figures shown in tables 1 and 2 - so this is where discrepancies appear.
The latest release will correct the four years of data in table 14, and the amended figures are listed in the footnotes for transparency.
Latest report
Previous reports
Related publications
Supporting guides including technical appendices.