Recommendation 29

Departments need to ensure that they detect fraud and error and recover overpayments wherever possible.84 HM Treasury told us it is up to departments to undertake an assessment of how feasible it is to recover funds lost to fraud and error. DWP told us it has a “lot of different ways of recovering debt”.85 For example DWP explained that debt recovery from vulnerable individuals through the Breathing Space Scheme is by a reduction of benefits and there is a cap in place where this reduction would cause hardship.86 Cabinet Office told us that it has started making moves towards increasing the commonality of sanctions applied by departments and has an “aspiration” to open up powers and sanctions to allow other parts of government to access them as part of their counter-fraud arrangements.87