Full report (PDF - 580
KB)
Executive summary (PDF
- 88 KB)
“The Department is clearly
committed to reducing the cost of administrative error and it is
frustrating that there has been no discernible reduction since
2007.
Progress will depend on developing a better
understanding of the costs and benefits of different interventions,
so that they can be targeted more effectively and are able to
achieve a significant reduction in the cost of administrative
error.”
Amyas Morse, head of the National Audit Office, 25
November 2010
A report today by the NAO has highlighted that the Department
for Work and Pensions has not reduced the mistakes made by its
staff in processing benefits. In 2009-10, it overpaid its customers
by an estimated £1.1 billion and made underpayments of £500
million.
However, the scale of the challenge faced by the Department
should not be underestimated. The benefits system is large,
encompassing over 27 different benefits and a total caseload of
around 20 million people. The scale of this task increases
further when changes in family circumstances and financial
conditions are also taken into account. Mistakes occur when
processing such a large volume of payments.
In addition, the Department has had to respond to the recent
recession in which Jobseekers Allowance caseload almost doubled
between 2008 and 2009. To date there does not appear to any
discernible deterioration in performance, which may represent
progress.
The report notes that the Government’s recent announcement of
the introduction of Universal Credit is an opportunity to simplify
many of the regulations, but such changes will take a long time to
implement. In the meantime, the onus remains on the Department to
keep the costs of mistakes to a minimum.
The Department has demonstrated a clear commitment to reducing
administrative error, through the publication of a strategy in 2007
aimed at tackling mistakes made by its staff and through the
formation of dedicated departmental-wide groups such as the Fraud
and Error Council which reports direct to the Permanent
Secretary.
There is, however, scope for improvement in the quality of
information used to assess where the Department should focus its
efforts. Although DWP has initiated an exercise to
understand fully the causes of error, this will not be
complete until the spring of 2011. There is also scope for further
work in collecting and analysing the full costs and benefits of the
Department’s interventions in order to assess cost
effectiveness.
The Government announced a new strategy in October 2010 with a
greater emphasis on preventing errors from arising and this is now
an opportunity for lessons to be learned.
Publication details:
HC: 569, 2010-2011
ISBN: 9780102965568