Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Twenty-Sixth Report of he Committee off Public Accounts of Session 2022-23, The Department for Work and Pensions’ Accounts 2021–22: Fraud and error in the benefits system, HC 44, published on 9 November 2022, what information his Department holds on how much of the £6.5 billion overpayment due to fraud in the benefits system in 2021-22 can be attributed to organised crime.
Answer
The department’s view is that serious and organised crime accounts for only a small minority of the total fraud reported for 2021/22, with the vast majority being individual claimants who have misrepresented their own personal circumstances.
The department has a strong counter-fraud function, which includes specifically targeting serious and organised crime including cyber-crime, which identifies and stops illegal activity and saves money for the taxpayer.
Current estimates are that serious and organised crime accounts for no more than 7% of the £6.5 billion of benefit fraud reported in the 2021/22 statistics, as it is most likely captured in the Abroad and Conditions of Entitlement (Identity) categories of fraud reported there.