Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many allegations of disability benefit fraud have been investigated in the last year for which information is available and how many resulted in prosecution.

Where there is evidence of serious or organised fraud, the Department will take firm action, including pursuing criminal investigation and prosecution where appropriate. There is rightly a high bar for prosecution. The Department is increasingly focused on preventing fraud and error from entering the welfare system in the first place, identifying issues earlier, correcting claims where needed, and recovering public money where overpayments occur.

Between 01/04/2025 and 31/03/2026, 2,656 allegations of disability benefit fraud relating to Disability Benefits and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) were received by the DWP and appropriate action was taken. It should be noted that only suitable allegations will have been allocated to a criminal investigator to commence a criminal investigation.

Between 01/04/2025 and 31/03/2026, 116 cases were referred to the CPS for prosecution.

It should be noted that the 116 cases may have been investigated during different reporting periods, reflecting the time required to complete individual investigations and that no direct correlation is possible.