A total of £1.7bn in benefits was not paid to those entitled to the money in 2015-16 owing to fraud and error, a new record rate of underpayment.
An increase led to 1% of benefits being unpaid during the year, Department for Work and Pensions figures reveal. A year ago, a committee of MPs told the government that delayed benefits meant families were going hungry. The government said it was providing more help to claimants to provide accurate information. Nearly 65% of underpaid benefits - the equivalent to about £1bn a year - was the result of inaccurate information from claimants, it said.
Help on the phone

People on Employment and Support Allowance - a benefit for those who are unable to work owing to illness or disability - were underpaid the most, with underpayments totalling £350m during the year. The most common cause was the result of errors by claimants in recording the amount of income that they received - particularly in other benefits......