The Department for Work and Pensions plans to check the bank statements of millions of Universal Credit claimants. It conducts what it calls targeted case reviews to help reduce fraud and errors in the system.
In a new update, the DWP says it has hired 2,000 targeted case review agents to review Universal Credit claims, along with 1,400 new anti-fraud experts. It plans to increase the case review task force to 6,000 and says “millions” of Universal Credit claims will be reviewed over the next four years.
The latest figures from April 2024 show that 6.67 million people are claiming Universal Credit in the UK. This includes almost 184,000 in Birmingham – the highest of any local authority area – of which 53,000 are in work and 131,000 are economically inactive. The Birmingham figures include a high of 29,784 applicants in Ladywood, 25,816 in Hodge Hill and just over 20,000 each in Yardley, Perry Barr and Erdington.
The claims review process involves asking people to show ID and hand over four months of bank statements. They will also need to provide documentation showing their housing costs, earnings, savings, self-employment, children, childcare costs, health, student finances and caring responsibilities. There is also a telephone interview and failure to attend may result in benefits being stopped.
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The DWP says it has already reviewed hundreds of thousands of applications this year and found irregularities in around a quarter that needed to be corrected. He explains: “This year we have reviewed more than 200,000 claims, found and corrected misstatements in almost 50,000 claims and stopped individuals from building up debt. This included identifying more than £16,000 of unreported capital, incorrectly declared self-employment expenses, and undisclosed second homes.
“This demonstrates the vital role that Targeted Case Reviews play in addressing unreported changes in circumstances, reminding customers of their obligation to inform us of changes in their circumstances to help them avoid unnecessary debt, and catching those trying to take advantage of the Social Security system. .”
Safeguards are said to be in place to support claimants and to spot signs of vulnerability and complex needs that may affect a person’s ability to manage their claim, report changes and report updates on their circumstances that could affect how much they are entitled to. receive.
The DWP said: “We are tripling the size of our teams that screen millions of Universal Credit claims for potential fraud or error and estimate that this will save £6.6 billion by 2027/28 alone.” In total, the Department plans to save £9 billion by that date in a major crackdown on fraud in the social security system.
It added: “We are making progress in our fight against fraud. In 2022/23, we reduced fraud and error in the social security system by 10 per cent – reducing the rate of fraud and error as a proportion of benefit spending from 4 per cent. to 3.6 per cent – ​​and we also saved the taxpayer £1.1 billion from our dedicated anti-fraud activities Combined with our controls, we estimate that our controls and activities prevented almost £18 billion of losses in 2022/23.
“Furthermore, the Department has set a target of saving £1.3bn in 2023/24 and initial savings estimates for 2023/24 suggest we have exceeded this target, saving £1.35bn through our anti-fraud activities. Since the outbreak pandemic, more than £8 billion a year has been overpaid due to fraud and error, money that could have been used for other public services such as schools or hospitals, or to reduce the national debt.
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