Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Fraud and error in the benefit system Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2023 statistical release, published on 11 May 2023, what information his Department holds on how much of the £680 million underpaid to Universal Credit recipients in 2022-23 was underpaid to households claiming the limited capability for work element or the limited capability for work and work-related activity element.

The total amount underpaid on Universal Credit in the FYE 2023 was estimated to be £680m (with a confidence interval of (£550m, £810m)). We estimate that £100m (with a confidence interval of (£50m, £160m)) was underpaid to households claiming the limited capability for work element, or the limited capability for work and work-related activity element.

The department’s fraud and error statistics are based on a sample of benefit reviews that are carried out throughout the year, therefore there is a level of uncertainty that is associated with them. The figures quoted in this publication are the central estimates, which are calculated from the sample. A range around the central estimates, called a confidence interval, is also calculated. This expresses the uncertainty associated with the central estimate.