Overview
- DWP analysis cited by the National Audit Office shows people above state pension age were almost 50 times more likely to be referred for investigation than younger claimants.
- Ministers say the department uses a single machine learning model to detect fraud and error, with human review and safeguards applied to final decisions.
- The Labour government is pressing a fraud-and-error crackdown that includes a proposed fraud bill and plans framed to deliver £9.6 billion in savings by 2030.
- Human-rights and anti-poverty groups warn automation could wrongly flag people and say proposals to access bank account data risk stopping payments for those in need.
- NAO head Gareth Davies and PAC chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown note progress in reducing overpayments but urge more funding, service modernisation and better data access.