DWP to recruit over 500 additional fraud and error staff from April 2025

The Department for Work and Pensions will recruit over 500 additional fraud and error staff from April 2025, according to a summary of welfare measures published after the Spring Statement¹. The recruitment is intended to make better use of government data to correct errors in benefit claims, such as differences between the level of earnings declared by DWP customers and actual earnings¹.

The staffing increase sits alongside other compliance measures set out in the same summary. These include increased upfront checks on potential Universal Credit claimants, with more ways to verify the amount of savings they hold and a new process for people to verify earnings and expenses, described as running from 2025/25 onwards¹. The summary does not give a figure for the expected savings from the recruitment or the checks.

The fraud and error measures were published alongside wider changes to benefits announced in the Spring Statement. The weekly standard allowance in Universal Credit for a single person aged 25 and over will increase from £92 a week in April 2025 to £106 in April 2029, applying to both new and existing claimants, with the £106 figure described as an above inflation increase (CPI + 5% is promised for April 2029)¹. The amount was dropped slightly in 2026/27, by around £1 a week from the green paper amount, due to extra savings the government wants to make¹.

Other changes reported include the renamed Universal Credit Health Element, which will be frozen for existing claimants from April 2026 until March 2030 and cut to £50 a week for new claimants from April 2026, then frozen until March 2030¹. For Personal Independence Payment, claimants will need to score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to qualify for the daily living award, applying to new claims from November 2026 and to the next review date after November 2026 for existing claimants¹.

On Child Benefit, the summary says it will be easier for newly liable families to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge if they are from households where one member earns between £60,000 and £79,999 a year¹. From Summer 2025 employees will have the option to report their Child Benefit payments through a new digital service in the HMRC app and pay the charge through PAYE, avoiding the need to complete a Self-Assessment¹.

Why it matters for households

The additional staff and upfront checks mean more Universal Credit claims may be examined for discrepancies between declared and actual earnings, and for the savings claimants hold, from April 2025¹. Where an error is identified, the correction affects the amount a household receives, though the summary does not set out how overpayments or underpayments will be handled.

The wider rate changes have dated effects. The Universal Credit standard allowance for a single person aged 25 and over rises from £92 a week in April 2025 towards £106 in April 2029, but the 2026/27 amount is around £1 a week lower than previously set out¹. Existing claimants of the Health Element face a freeze from April 2026 to March 2030, while new claimants from April 2026 receive £50 a week, also frozen to March 2030¹. The PIP points threshold applies to new claims from November 2026 and to existing claimants at their next review after that date¹.

For employed parents, the option to report Child Benefit through the HMRC app and pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge through PAYE begins in Summer 2025, for households where one member earns between £60,000 and £79,999¹.

What happens next

The recruitment of over 500 fraud and error staff starts from April 2025¹. The Pathways to Work consultation, which covers some of the reforms, closes on 30 June 2025¹. The summary notes that only some of the reforms are being consulted on¹.