Overview

• 25 investigations in 2024/25 confirmed that civil servants diverted £1.713 million in welfare payments meant for vulnerable claimants.
• A parallel review uncovered 22 cases of salary and expense fraud with losses amounting to £43,886.
• Some staff exploited flaws in customer identity checks and approvals to authorise illegitimate benefit claims.
• Disciplinary action has led to dismissals, criminal referrals and five-year bans on future government employment.
• Campaigners and former ministers condemned the breaches as a betrayal of trust and demanded stricter safeguards.