DWP slammed by MPs for demonising claimants as ‘fraudsters’

Whilst the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) loves to brag about catching “benefit fraud”, it’s been called out for not doing enough to stop benefit errors in its own system.

DWP pulled in front of the Public Accounts Committee for their own fuck ups – again

The DWP was once again up in front of the Public Accounts Committee. This time, it was defending what it was doing to tackle fraud and error.

A big chunk of the committee was taken up with scrutinising the powers of the new bank snooping bill. This was covered extensively by the rags because the penny has finally dropped that they can spy on ALL our bank accounts.

However, much of the coverage misses that the DWP was also called to account for its own behaviour. Specifically, due to its own error, the department is overpaying and underpaying a huge number of claimants.

Underpaid benefits cancelled out overpaid benefits

PAC found that claimants were overpaid by £1 billion in 2024-25 due to the DWP’s own errors. This is up from £0.8 billion in 2023-24. However, this is cancelled out by the fact that claimants were underpaid by £1.2 billion for the same reason 2024-25. This is up from £1.1 billion in 2023-24.

The report said:

The DWP has carried out some work to tackle the root causes of fraud and error – but this has focused on those committed by claimants, rather than errors by officials.

As usual, the DWP is spending all its time demonising claimants and not actually doing anything to fix its fucked up system that allows so many to fall through the cracks. This is clear through the media narrative of disabled claimants and the treatment of carers.

The report reiterates that errors in the system are largely down to those who control the system, who don’t really give a fuck about fixing it.

Claimants not reporting worsening conditions, for obvious reason

Another issue, the report claims, is that not enough claimants are reporting when their circumstances change.

A particular problem is that disabled claimants are not informing the DWP when their condition worsens, meaning they could be entitled to more money.

This rose from approximately £3.1 billion in 2023-24 to £3.7 billion in 2024-25. However, there’s a very obvious explanation for this.

When a disabled claimant reports that their condition worsens, they have to be reassessed. Anyone who’s gone through the benefits assessment process knows how utterly soul-destroying it is.

There’s also no guarantee that you will get more money at the end of it. With assessments being so cruel, there’s always the possibility of ending up with less money or losing all your benefits. So for many, it’s just not worth the stress.

Whilst a change of circumstance can be made online for Universal Credit, other benefits require you to call. The DWP Customer Service and Accounts 2023-24 report found that 3.6 million calls about PIP went unanswered in that same period.

The committee has said the DWP needs to address its own errors and how these can be fixed. But having reported on the DWP for a long time, I’m fairly certain this will be a tick-box exercise or something they attempt to sneak out.

Does the DWP actually care about changing?

The committee has ordered the department to do more to make it easier for claimants to report changes. Worryingly, though, beyond “build trust”, there isn’t really much mentioned about how the culture of the DWP has to change. If claimants felt safe enough to report changes and could be sure they wouldn’t lose money, more would report worsening conditions.

Unfortunately, though, it’s clear from the DWP’s actions that the department would much rather demonise claimants and ensure as many are kicked off vital benefits as possible. Ensuring more who actually need the support get it just wouldn’t fit their benefit scrounger narrative.

Featured image via the Canary