New figures released today showed that that the Department for Work and Pensions lost £3 billion due to fraud and error last year, less than a third of which was ever recovered. Commenting on the figures, Emily said:

“The DWP is leaking taxpayers’ money like a sieve.

“Together with losses already reported by HMRC, today’s figures mean that the Government is now paying out around £4.2 billion a year in benefits and tax credits which have either been fraudulently claimed or overpaid because of official incompetence. And what’s more, the DWP has now admitted that annual losses to fraud and error are expected to rise to almost £6 billion a year by the end of this Parliament.  

“It all adds up to considerably more than the £4.4 billion which George Osborne says he needs to save by cutting tax credits -; a fact which won’t be lost on working families. The Tories need to think again about these reckless cuts, and they should start by getting their own house in order.”