Latest news with #andRecovery)Bill
Daily Mirror
15-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
DWP errors pushed Universal Credit claimants into debt worth £494million
The total amount - which equates to around 0.3% of benefit spending - comes as the benefit department made 680,000 Universal Credit overpayments because of "official error" in 2023-24 Universal Credit claimants incurred more than £494million worth of debt in the last year due to mistakes made by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The total amount - which equates to around 0.3% of benefit spending - comes as the benefit department made 680,000 Universal Credit overpayments because of "official error" in 2023-24. Under the current rules, the benefits department recovers benefits overpayments by deducting an amount from a claimant's monthly benefit payment. The department usually sends notice of this, and a claimant can appeal. However, the deductions will start at their next payment regardless. On the government's website, official error is described as being caused "by an error or omission by an officer of the Department for Work and Pensions". For example, if the DWP officer working on your Universal Credit claim didn't correctly register your savings or income, you could be paid more than you are entitled to. If the error is noticed and corrected, the DWP will recover the entire amount which was overpaid to you. Depending on how long it takes to notice the error, Universal Credit claimants could rack up overpayment debt worth thousands. According to DWP data obtained by Good Law Project through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the DWP waived overpayment debts only 75 times last year. This represents 0.01% of all overpayment cases, with a total of £865,000 having been waived. This represents just 0.02% of the total amount overpaid by the benefits department. However, the I paper report that the DWP have cast doubt on the data obtained through the FOI request, as it noted that its system for recording overpayments was 'not considered to be robust enough' to provide exact numbers on overpayments. The DWP did not confirm whether the actual number was higher or lower than the figure provided. On the data, a spokesperson for the DWP told the publication that the department will be introducing new measures to reduce overpayments. This is included in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error, and Recovery) Bill which was introduced into the Commons in January. The added: "To further protect people, we have additional safeguards in place before any recovery action takes place". Niamh Grahame, a solicitor at Public Law Project, has voiced concern over the DWP's plans for overpayment debts and says they carried a "particular risk of harm and injustice'. One example she noted was the department's 'eligibility verification measure.' The measure does not give the DWP access to claimant's bank accounts, instead it requires banks to share data on claimants who may be receiving incorrect payments. Niamh said the bill offered ministers 'a golden opportunity to prevent hundreds of thousands of people from being pushed into unfair debt by the DWP's own error'. Alongside 30 other leading charities, The Public Law Project has written to Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall calling for an end to this issue. The letter urged the DWP to change its approach to Universal Credit overpayments and instead align more with that of Housing Benefit. With this, overpayments are not recovered when the claimant could not reasonably have expected to have known they had been overpaid. Niamh added: "This would mean they could only be recovered where the claimant could reasonably have been expected to realise that they had been overpaid." Luke Young, head of policy at Citizens Advice, commented: 'Too many people on universal credit are being penalised for government mistakes. Deductions are leaving people with less income than they need to make ends meet and pushing them into debt. The benefits system should be there to support people, not force them into hardship.' Luke added that writing off overpayment debts which were down to official error "would be a good place to start" in any plans for Universal Credit reform.
Daily Record
01-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
DWP confirms exact scope of new bank 'monitoring' powers to tackle fraud and overpayments
New souped-up powers from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), which will allow DWP to recover money directly from the bank accounts of fraudsters who can repay but are wilfully gaming the system in order not to, passed an important stage in the House of Commons this week. The Third Reading of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error, and Recovery) Bill, which could put these measures into law, will help DWP to catch fraudsters , prevent overpayments and protect taxpayer's money. The Bill will also give powers to the DWP to get data from banks and other financial institutions to help verify the eligibility of those who receive certain benefits to make sure they are getting the correct payments - this will help to stop people falling further into debt because of incorrect payments and help the DWP spot fraudulent claims. DWP confirmed that no personal information will be shared by the Department to support financial institutions in the identification of these accounts, and DWP will not have access to people's bank accounts in verifying eligibility and will not be able to see where people are spending their money. The Bill will save the taxpayer £1.5 billion over the next five years and is part of wider plans set out in the Autumn budget and Spring Statement to save £9.6 billion by 2030. This means taxpayer's money can be invested in public services as part of the government's Plan for Change. Protections are central to the Bill, making sure there is proportionate and effective use of the powers, and that DWP is protecting vulnerable customers. DWP example: Minister for Transformation Andrew Western, said: 'Enhancing our powers is essential to fulfilling our commitment to the public, as they will enable us to address the unacceptable levels of fraud and error we've inherited and better protect public funds. 'By strengthening our ability to catch criminals and prevent overpayments, we can keep up with the evolving nature of welfare fraud while reducing the risk of people falling further into debt, ensuring that more resources are directed towards improving the lives of people across the country.' The new legislation comes as the UK Government is dealing with the broken welfare system it inherited, with out-of-control levels of fraud and error costing the taxpayer around £10 billion a year - with a total of £35 billion of taxpayers' money incorrectly paid to those not entitled to the money since the pandemic. On top of the Bill measures, the Chancellor announced in the Spring Statement a further commitment to recruit over 500 additional DWP fraud and error staff who will make better use of government data to correct errors in benefit claims, as well as increasing checks on potential Universal Credit claimants by introducing more ways to verify the amount of savings they hold, as well as their earnings and expenses. The Cabinet Office's Public Sector Fraud Authority will also be given more powers under the legislation, allowing the department's investigators to detect and recover fraud in other departments and bodies across the public sector. Minister in the Cabinet Office, Georgia Gould said: 'This Bill will save taxpayers' money. People are currently getting away with stealing vast sums of cash because our investigators don't have the powers they need to detect and recover fraud across the public sector. 'We're giving our investigators new powers to tackle fraud wherever they find it - as well as doubling the time available to bring pandemic fraudsters to justice.' The Bill measures will now progress to the House of Lords to be debated further.
