Helen Goodman MP, Labour’s Shadow Welfare Reform Minister, responding to the Public Accounts Committee report on fraud and error in housing benefit, said:

“This is a typical example of Tory Welfare Waste which is now costing taxpayers £1.4 billion a year. The shocking rise under this Government in Housing Benefit overpayments is now running at nearly six per cent of total Housing Benefit spend and represents a staggering 42 per cent of total overpayments across all benefits.

“Despite being warned repeatedly by the Public Accounts Committee of the need to tackle this problem, the DWP has reduced its own funding of fraud detection in this area and reduced funding to local authorities for administering the benefit.”