Around two million Universal Credit claimants are set to have their benefits investigated by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The Targeted Case Review initiative will check if claimants are legitimately entitled to their payments and whether they are on the right amount. Latest figures show that around 5.8 million people across the UK are currently in receipt of Universal Credit, which means around a third of these existing claims could be investigated by DWP.
An update was issued on the review, announced last year by DWP as part Government plans to combat fraud within the benefits system, after Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Jonathan Ashworth asked the department what steps it was taking to reduce benefit underpayments due to official error recently, The Mirror reports.
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In a written reply, the DWP's Minister of State Tom Pursglove said the Government department was "committed to identifying errors and rectifying them as quickly as possible". The minister then confirmed that two million existing Universal Credit cases would be looked at in the next five years as part of the ongoing review.
The minister said: "The department's Quality Framework means we constantly check the accuracy of agents' work, which helps identify any additional training requirements. It also means we can update training material and instructions as required.
"Alongside the department's quality checking regime, our Targeted Case Review initiative will review two million UC (Universal Credit) cases over the next five years, checking entitlement and helping ensure people are receiving the right amount of benefit."
Last month, figures from DWP showed that more than half a million people on Universal Credit had had their benefits cut due to sanctions within the past year. According to the figures, 541,000 people were given a sanction between February 2022 and January 2023, with 97% of sanctions given for failing to attend a mandatory interview with a work coach at the Jobcentre.
The DWP explained in its report: "If you do not meet one or more conditions of your benefit claim without good reason, your benefit could be stopped or reduced. This is a benefit sanction.
"However, not everyone that is initially referred for failing to meet the conditions of their claim will receive a sanction. Where a claimant's benefit is reduced, the claimant may be eligible for a hardship payment."
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