An influential panel of MPs has urged the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to take immediate action to give local authorities stronger incentives to tackle housing benefit error and fraud costing £1.4bn annually.

A report from the commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) issued 13 January found a similar £1.4bn sum was made in housing benefit overpayments, which itself made up 5.8% of total £23.9bn expenditure on housing benefit in 2013/14.

Chair of the PAC, Margaret Hodge, said: ‘The incentives provided by the department for local authorities to tackle fraud and claimant error are not good enough.'