BBC News
By Michael Buchanan
Published
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Fraud and error on the main universal credit benefit have reached record levels, according to new official figures.
According to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), £8.4bn was lost in 2020-21, up from £4.6bn the previous year.
Officials say the rise is almost entirely due to fraud.
The number of people on universal credit has doubled to six million since the start of the pandemic.
Officials say the increase in universal credit fraud is a product of more people applying for the benefit, and the value of each fraudulent case rising, rather than a higher proportion of people engaging in fraud.