Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 13
13
Rejected
DWP's new fraud and error measures are expected to improve accountability and transparency.
Recommendation
We have previously found that the DWP lacks the ability to demonstrate that its counter-fraud activities are having the intended impact and are cost-effective.22 Alongside its forecast that benefit overpayments will not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2027– 28, DWP has set a target to achieve £1.3 billion of fraud and error savings in 2023–24. It has also published a new estimate of the amounts saved by its counter-fraud activities23. 15 Q 100 16 Q 14 17 DWP ARA 2022–23, page 300 18 Q 13 19 Q 98 20 Q 99 21 Correspondence from HMRC dated 28 September 2023 22 Committee of Public Accounts, The Department for Work and Pensions’ Accounts 2021–22 – Fraud and error in the benefit system, Twenty-Sixth Report of Session 2022–23, HC 44, 9 November 2022 23 DWP ARA 2022–23, pages 302, 303 12 The Department for Work & Pensions Annual Report and Accounts 2022–23 The NAO has reported that, taken together, DWP’s forecast, target and savings estimate should improve accountability by providing transparency on its performance in tackling fraud and error.24 24 DWP ARA 2022–23, page 274 The Department for Work & Pensions Annual Report and Accounts 2022–23 13 2 Systemic underpayments of State Pension Progress correcting underpayments relating to historical error by DWP staff
Government Response Summary
The government rejects the recommendation, stating that while DWP is committed to reducing fraud and error, external trends impacting the level of fraud in the benefit system are not directly within its control.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
1a. PAC recommendation: DWP needs to reduce substantially the level of fraud and error in benefit spending and demonstrate that it is operating a cost-effective control environment. 1.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 1.2 The Department for Work and Pensions (the department) is fully committed to reducing fraud and error through operating a cost-effective control environment and continually enhancing the department’s controls framework to enable this. 1.3 The department set itself an Annual Managed Expenditure (AME) savings target of £1.3 billion in its 2022-23 Annual Report and Accounts and will provide an update on the performance against this target in the 2023-24 Annual Report and Accounts. 1.4 However, the wider external trends of increasing propensity for fraud in the economy, which impact on the level of fraud and error in the benefit system, are not directly in the department’s control. On this basis the department disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation.