The Comptroller and Auditor General, Amyas Morse, has qualified his audit opinion on the regularity of the 2015-16 accounts of the Department for Work and Pensions. This is owing to the unacceptably high level of fraud and error in benefit expenditure, other than State Pension where the level of fraud and error is lower.
The NAO has published its investigation into misuse of the Flexible Support Fund in Plaistow jobcentre. The report looks at how the Department for Work & Pensions responded to allegations of misuse at the jobcentre.
We have published a series of reports which explore some of the major risks to public finances highlighted in the Whole of Government Accounts (WGA).
It is important that the Government ensures its compliance programme reflects the changing risks within the labour market, and maintains its progress in ensuring all employers pay the minimum wage.
The welfare cap is encouraging a greater understanding of spending on some benefits and tax credits across government, but it is important that processes for managing the cap are reliable.
The Department for Work and Pension has limited information about who will be affected by the impact of state pension reforms in April 2016 on people with Guaranteed Minimum Pensions. The impact will depend on a number of factors, and some people are likely to lose out. The Department is now seeking to improve how it communicates the impact of pension reforms.
24 March 2016
Overall spending on discretionary local welfare support by central and local government has reduced since April 2013. The consequences of this gap in provision are not understood.
The C&AG has qualified the DWP’s Client Funds Account on the grounds of material errors in the calculations of child maintenance assessments. He has also given an adverse opinion on the truth and fairness of the outstanding maintenance arrears.
The Department for Work and Pensions has successfully introduced automatic enrolment to workplace pensions for large and medium-sized employers. Significant risks remain.
This impacts case study shows how our identification of data and management weaknesses was pivotal in leading to the implementation of actions to address them.
It is one example of financial or non-financial benefits realised in 2014 as a result of our involvement, all of which are set out in our interactive PDF.
