Fraud and error in the benefit system: preliminary 2012/13 estimates
Preliminary estimates of fraud and error levels in the benefit system in Great Britain 2012 to 2013.
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We released the latest National Statistics report, ‘Fraud and error in the benefit system: preliminary 2012/13 estimates’ on 9 May 2013 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.
The latest report estimates fraud and error levels in the benefit system in Great Britain:
- for 2012/13 (preliminary) it is estimated that 2.1% of total benefit expenditure was overpaid due to fraud and error, the same as the 2011/12 estimate
- the estimated value of overpayments is £3.5 billion, which is a rise from the 2011/12 estimated value of £3.4 billion
- for 2012/13 (preliminary) it is estimated that 0.9% of total benefit expenditure was underpaid due to fraud and error, which is a rise from the 2011/12 estimate (0.8%)
- the estimated value of underpayments is £1.4 billion, which is a rise from the 2011/12 estimated value of £1.3 billion
Within this publication we are publishing Employment and Support Allowance official error estimates for the first time. Please see sections 1 and 2 for more details.
These statistics have recently been assessed by the UK Statistics Authority.
Next planned release date: ‘Fraud and error in the benefit system: final 2012/13 estimates’ in October/November 2013.
If you have any comments, questions or any general queries regarding our publication, please email catherine.edwards@dwp.gsi.gov.uk from the Fraud and Error Measurement Analysis Team.
Updates to this page
Last updated 25 June 2013 + show all updates
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Replaced the Fraud and error in the benefit system: preliminary 2012/13 estimates (Great Britain) PDF.
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Revised 'Supplementary tables: Fraud and error in the benefit system: preliminary 2012/13 estimates (Great Britain)' published.
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First published.