At present, more than 23 million people are receiving payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), however since the beginning of the Covid pandemic, fraud and error in the UK benefits system reached record levels with a reported £8.4 billion overpaid in the last financial year.
As a result Neil Couling, Universal Credit director-general, stated that the DWP's fraud and error probe could see claimants approached over the next few months with investigators turning up at homes or the workplace at any time if they suspect foul play.
Investigators will use surveillance, document tracing and interviews to gather evidence - they will also check your bank accounts and monitor your social media.
According to Birmingham Live, a DWP spokesman said: "Following an unprecedented year in which the number of Universal Credit claimants doubled as a result of the pandemic, fraud and error in the benefits system remains low with 95 per cent of benefits worth more than £200 billion paid correctly.
"We take any abuse of taxpayers' money very seriously and those who claim benefits they are not entitled to will face criminal prosecution.
"We also have robust plans in place to recover fraudulent claims and drive fraud and error down to the lowest feasible level."
What do they mean by an overpayment?
An overpayment in this case is where a claimant has received more than they are entitled to.
Overpayments fall in to two categories:
- Those where recovery is specifically provided for under Social Security legislation.
- Those where recovery is not specifically provided for under Social Security legislation but the Secretary of State may in some cases seek recovery under Common Law principles.
What are the types of overpayments the DWP look out for?
The DWP look out for the following:
- Mistake by the claimant (non-disclosure of circumstances or incomplete form)
- Deliberate fraud by the claimant (failing to disclose a material fact or deliberate misrepresentation)
- Interim and advance payments including short term benefit advance that could not be recovered from the benefit for which they were paid
- Universal Credit recoverable hardship payments (classed as an overpayment for recovery purposes if recovery can no longer be taken from the benefit that was in place at the time of payment)
- Overpayment due to late award of other benefit/income
- Overpayments due to the way in which the Direct Payment banking system operates
- Official error – only applies to Universal Credit and contributory Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance claims made on or after April 29, 2013
In each of those cases, it can make efforts to get the money back under Social Security legislation.
If an individual is guilty of fraud, they may either be asked to pay back the overpaid money, taken to court and given a fine between £350 or up to £5,000 or their benefits may be cut for up to three years if convicted.
The period you are cut off by will depend on how many times you have committed fraud.
What are the 20 benefits that can be stopped if you commit benefit fraud?
- Carer’s Allowance
- Employment and Support Allowance
- Housing Benefit
- Incapacity Benefit
- Income Support
- Industrial Death Benefit
- Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit
- Industrial Injuries Reduced Earnings Allowance
- Industrial Injuries Retirement Allowance
- Industrial Injuries Unemployability Supplement
- Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Severe Disablement Allowance
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- War Disablement Pension
- War Widow’s Pension
- War Pension Unemployability Supplement
- War Pension Allowance for Lower Standard of Occupation
- Widowed Mother’s/Parent’s Allowance
- Working Tax Credit
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What are the 21 benefits that will not be stopped if you commit benefit fraud?
- Attendance Allowance
- Bereavement Support Payment
- Child Benefit
- Child Tax Credit
- Christmas Bonus
- Disability Living Allowance
- Graduated Retirement Benefit
- Guardian’s Allowance
- Industrial Injuries Constant Attendance Allowance (where a Disablement Pension is payable)
- Industrial Injuries Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance (where a Disablement Pension is payable)
- Personal Independence Payment
- State Pension
- Social Fund Payments
- War Pension Constant Attendance Allowance
- War Pension Exceptionally Severe Disablement Allowance
- War Pension Mobility Supplement
- Maternity Allowance
- Statutory Adoption Pay
- Statutory Maternity Pay
- Statutory Paternity Pay
- Statutory Sick Pay
