Written questions

Universal Credit: Fraud

Commons · Question 97233 · Tabled 4 Dec 2025 · Department for Work and Pensions · Official record

Answered 11 Dec 2025

Question

Asked by Matt Vickers

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the accuracy of fraud and error detection systems used in Universal Credit administration.

Answer

Answered by Andrew Western, 11 Dec 2025

Over the last year, we have seen a statistically significant decrease in the Universal Credit overpayment rate from 12.4% to 9.7% of expenditure - this represents a 21% fall in the overpayment rate, equivalent to £1.7bn in terms of FYE 2025 Universal Cred...