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<p /> <p>The Department takes both under and overpayments seriously and has in place
a number of initiatives to address the errors that cause them. These activities address
fraud as well as error, and both under and overpayments. It is therefore not possible
to separate out the cost of activities focused exclusively on underpayments as a result
of error.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit will make the welfare system simpler by replacing
six benefits and credits with a single monthly payment. This simplification is expected
to lead to a reduction in fraud and error due to the fact that information about claimants
will be held in one place and updated more frequently and easily.</p><p> </p><p>For
claimants that have income taxed under PAYE, Universal Credit will be linked to HMRC’s
Real Time Information system, which will provide an automatic monthly update of their
income thus reducing the potential for both error and fraud.</p><p> </p><p>The Department
has invested in compliance activity, so that case correctness is maintained and fraud
and error entering the system are detected and resolved quickly. Across all delivery
arms there is a focus on accuracy and quality, including a continuous quality checking
regime to review claims and check processing accuracy.</p><p> </p><p>We constantly
review claims by checking them against data coming into our systems, in order to highlight
potential anomalies. We do this by using business rules which focus on potential error
to identify both under and overpayments.</p><p> </p><p>The Department is taking steps
to encourage claimants to ensure that the information provided to us is accurate and
up-to-date. This includes a fraud and error communications campaign about driving
behaviour change and emphasising that claimants must report any change of circumstances.</p>
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