[
  {
    "id": "find-accounts-qualified",
    "headline": "The auditor qualified DWP’s accounts because of fraud and error",
    "body": "The Comptroller and Auditor General qualified his opinion on the regularity of DWP's 2025-26 accounts because of the level of fraud and error in benefit payments.",
    "evidence": [
      "fe-overpayments-2025-26"
    ],
    "kind": "risk",
    "severity": "high",
    "status": "open",
    "first_published": "2026-10-27",
    "last_reviewed": "2026-10-27",
    "right_of_reply": null
  },
  {
    "id": "find-errors-both-ways",
    "headline": "The system makes mistakes in both directions: £4.9bn was underpaid",
    "body": "Alongside overpayments, an estimated £4.9bn (1.6%) was underpaid. £1.2bn was DWP's own error, and £3.7bn was entitlement that was never identified, mostly in disability benefits.",
    "evidence": [
      "fe-underpayments-2025-26",
      "fe-underpay-official-error-2025-26",
      "fe-underpay-unfulfilled-2025-26"
    ],
    "kind": "inefficiency",
    "severity": "high",
    "status": "open",
    "first_published": "2026-10-27",
    "last_reviewed": "2026-10-27",
    "right_of_reply": null
  },
  {
    "id": "find-fe-vs-staff",
    "headline": "Money overpaid through fraud and error is about twice DWP's entire staff bill",
    "body": "In 2025-26 an estimated £9.9bn was overpaid through fraud and error, against £4.9bn spent on all DWP staff. The overpaid amount is 3.2% of benefit spending.",
    "evidence": [
      "fe-overpayments-2025-26",
      "dwp-staff-costs-2025-26",
      "fe-overpayments-rate-2025-26"
    ],
    "kind": "inefficiency",
    "severity": "high",
    "status": "open",
    "first_published": "2026-10-27",
    "last_reviewed": "2026-10-27",
    "right_of_reply": null
  },
  {
    "id": "find-uc-concentration",
    "headline": "Universal Credit accounts for over two-thirds of overpayments",
    "body": "£6.7bn of the £9.9bn overpaid was on Universal Credit, so action on UC has the largest effect on the total.",
    "evidence": [
      "fe-uc-overpayments-2025-26",
      "fe-overpayments-2025-26"
    ],
    "kind": "observation",
    "severity": "medium",
    "status": "open",
    "first_published": "2026-10-27",
    "last_reviewed": "2026-10-27",
    "right_of_reply": null
  }
]