Recommendation 8

We asked the Department about its controls to prevent fraud and error, particularly in relation to Universal Credit. It said that, because it was monitoring controls, it was able to identify where there were possible weaknesses and make continuous improvements. It noted that it was harder to have effective controls in some areas than in others.12 We pressed the Department about controls in key loss areas, such as fraud and 6 C&AG’s Report (overpayments), paras 7, 8 7 C&AG’s Report (overpayments), para 2.25 8 Letter from DWP to the Public Accounts Committee dated 1 December 2025 9 Q 3 10 Q 17 11 Committee of Public Accounts, DWP Customer Service and Accounts 2023–24, Sixth Report of Session 2024–25, HC 354, January 2025 12 Q 13 8 error relating to people living together.13 Written evidence we received highlighted that this is the second most common cause of Universal Credit overpayments, accounting for £1.2 billion in 2024–25.14 DWP acknowledged that family life was fluid in many cases and living together was difficult to define.15