Recommendation 13

Even before the impact of COVID-19 the Department had not yet delivered the value of savings on fraud and error on which the Business Case for Universal Credit was based.26 As these were intended to be annually recurring savings, every year of delay in achieving them represents a real and significant cost to the public purse.27 The Department is not yet able to tell us how long it will take to achieve the promised level of savings, and it is therefore unable to tell us what the total additional cost will be.28 19 DWP ARAC 2019–20, pages 186–188 20 Q 21; DWP ARAC 2019–20, page 70 21 Q 21 22 Committee of Public Accounts, Universal Credit and fraud and error: progress review, Session 2016–17, HC 489, 4 November 2016, recommendations 5 and 8; Committee of Public Accounts, Fraud and Error Stocktake, Session 2015–16, HC 394, 28 October 2015, recommendations 2 and 4. 23 DWP ARAC 2019–20, pages 189, 191, 238 24 Q16; C&AG’s Report, Rolling out Universal Credit, Session 2017–19, HC 1123, 15 June 2018, page 52, Figure 18 25 Q 18 26 Q 17, C&AG’s Report, Universal Credit: getting to first payment, Session 2019–21, HC 376, 10 July 2020, page 41, paragraph 2.24 27 C&AG’s Report, Rolling out Universal Credit, Session 2017–19, HC 1123, 15 June 2018, page 52, Figure 18 28 Q 19, Q 20 12 Department for Work and Pensions Accounts 2019–20