Written Question·Department for Work and Pensions·UIN 108642

Universal Credit: Overpayments

Tabled: 27 January 2026
Answered: 4 February 2026

Question

Jim Shannon

Democratic Unionist Party — Strangford

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claimants were overpaid cost of living payments in 2025; and what is the total amount of the overpayments identified in 2025.

Answer

Andrew Western
The Department publishes fraud and error statistics annually and the data for FYE 2025 can be found here: Fraud and error in the benefit system, Financial Year Ending (FYE) 2025 - GOV.UK.