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<p>We do not hold data on actual Universal Credit (UC) overpayments as requested,
as there is no requirement to categorise UC debt because it is all recoverable in
law.</p><p> </p><p>However, our national statistics on fraud and error in the benefit
system provide information on the estimated value of UC Official Error, both as a
percentage of benefit expenditure and by value.</p><p> </p><p>For UC, the figures
show that UC Official Error loss has fallen from 1.3% (£250m) in 2019/20, to 0.9%
(£330m) in 2020/21, to 0.7% (£270m) in 2021/22.</p><p> </p><p>The statistics also
indicate how many cases were estimated to have an overpayment of this type - in 2019/20
the figure stood at 4.1%; in 2021/22 it was 2.6%. We do not collect data on how many
of these overpayments were detected or subsequently recovered. See:</p><p> </p><p><a
href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fraud-and-error-in-the-benefit-system-financial-year-2021-to-2022-estimates"
target="_blank">Fraud and error in the benefit system: financial year 2021 to 2022
estimates - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p> </p><p>The DWP remains committed to working
with anyone who is struggling with benefit debt deductions and encourages customers
experiencing hardship to contact the DWP to discuss their repayment plan.</p>
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