More than £3bn of welfare spending was lost to fraud and overpayments last year, revised figures issued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reveal.
According to financial estimates issued on 6 June, some 2%, or £3.2bn, of the total £159bn welfare bill was paid out in error. In its latest business plan, the DWP has pledged to cut benefit overpayments to a maximum of 1.7% by 2015.
