National statistics

Fraud and Error in the benefit system: financial year 2012/13 estimates

Final estimates of total overpayments and underpayments across the benefit system in financial year 2012/13.

From:
Department for Work and Pensions
Published
16 January 2014

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Documents

Fraud and Error in the Benefit System 2012/13 Estimates: First release

PDF, 72.5 KB, 4 pages

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Fraud and Error in the Benefit System: 2012/13 Estimates

Ref: ISBN 978-1-78425-024-9

PDF, 553 KB, 128 pages

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Supplementary tables: Fraud and Error in the Benefit System 2012/13 Estimates

MS Excel Spreadsheet, 858 KB

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Infographic: Fraud and Error in the Benefit System: 2012/13 Estimates

PDF, 1000 KB, 1 page

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Details

This National Statistics report has been published according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.

The report estimates fraud and error levels in the benefit system in Great Britain:

  • for 2012/13 it is estimated that 2.1% of total benefit expenditure was overpaid due to fraud and error, the same as the 2011/12 estimate
  • the estimated value of overpayments is £3.5 billion, which is a rise from the 2011/12 estimated value of £3.4 billion
  • for 2012/13 it is estimated that 0.9% of total benefit expenditure was underpaid due to fraud and error, which is a rise from the 2011/12 estimate (0.8%)
  • the estimated value of underpayments is £1.6 billion, which is a rise from the 2011/12 estimated value of £1.3 billion

The report includes Employment and Support Allowance official error estimates.

These statistics have recently been assessed by the UK Statistics Authority.

Additional information

DWP published the preliminary 2012/13 estimates on 9 May 2013. These have been archived and should only be used for comparison with the final estimates on this page.

If you have any comments, questions or any general queries regarding our publication, please email the Fraud and Error Measurement Analysis Team

Next release: May 2014.

Published 16 January 2014

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