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Guidance

Loss of benefit as a penalty for benefit fraud

Changes to the way benefits can be reduced or stopped as a penalty for a benefit fraud offence following the Welfare Reform Act 2012.

Updates to this page

From:
Department for Work and Pensions
Published:
27 March 2013
Last updated:
15 April 2026
Show all updates

  1. Updated the guidance to reflect that the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025 has changed how loss of benefit is applied in certain circumstances.

  2. First published.

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Documents

Loss of benefit as a penalty for benefit fraud

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The Welfare Reform Act 2012 introduced tougher penalties for people who commit benefit fraud.

Benefits can be reduced or stopped if a claimant, their partner or a family member is convicted of a benefit fraud offence or accepts an administrative penalty for such an offence. An administrative penalty is a financial penalty offered by DWP as an alternative to prosecution.

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