New figures show benefit fraudsters have cost taxpayers over £6billion in the past year, a figure one government minister has called "staggering".
The Department for Work and Pensions published figures showing that nearly £9.5bn worth of taxpayers' cash had been wrongly paid in the last financial year.
According to Department for Work and Pensions figures, an estimated £1.2bn was underpaid during the same period.
Fraudulent claims contributed £6.5bn to the total overpayments, making up the majority of the overpaid benefit expenditure.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall arrives in Downing Street
PA
The latest figure is a decrease from £7.3bn the previous year, saving the taxpayer £800million.
Overpayments due to claimant error rose to £1.9bn, up from £1.6bn, with officials' errors also increased, reaching £1bn from £800m.
Overpayments specifically related to Universal Credit saw a slight decrease, falling to £6.35bn from £6.41bn.
Universal Credit, which saw a slight decrease from £6.35bn to £6.41bn, is responsible for the overpayments.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Universal Credit is a benefit payment reserved for those on low income PADWP blamed three key reasons resulting in the cause of fraud overpayments, starting with people under-declaring their earnings as the main contributor.
Benefits claimants failing to declare living with a partner and people under-declaring their financial assets or capital are the next two largest reasons, according to the department.
The DWP also said it was able to recover some £1.1bn of overpayments in the past year, £400m in housing benefit and the same amount in universal credit.
Minister Andrew Western described the figures as “staggering” despite a decrease from the previous year.
Minister Andrew Western described the figures as 'staggering' despite a decrease from the previous year
PA
In a written statement published alongside the figures on Thursday, he highlighted the Government's manifesto commitment to safeguard taxpayers’ money and cut down on public service waste.
Western said: "With welfare benefits paid to around 24 million people, the welfare system is a deliberate target for both organised crime groups and opportunistic individuals and it is vital that the Government continues to robustly tackle fraud to ensure support goes to those who need it most.
"We are taking further steps to minimise error, ensuring the right people are paid the right amount at the right time."
The figures came as the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, which has been billed as delivering the "biggest ever crackdown on fraud against the public purse", moved to the House of Lords for its second reading on Thursday.
The Bill allows the DWP to recover money directly from fraudsters’ bank accounts.
