Taxpayers Shelling Out £25 Million Weekly to Cover Benefit Fraudsters Raking in Thousands

BENEFIT cheats are fleecing taxpayers out of whopping £25million a week, new data reveals.

A record £1.3billion of Brits’ hard earned cash was trousered by shameless fraudsters last year, according to the Department of Work and (DWP).

Benefit cheats are fleecing taxpayers out of £25mill a week, according to DWP Credit: Getty Universal credit accounted for most of the losses Credit: Getty

Benefit payments are meant to be limited if the claimant has savings over £6k in their back pocket – and stopped completely with any more than £16k.

However, DWP data shows swindlers are making successful applications by hiding their cash.

Handouts crooked by scroungers who hid their savings, assets and investments has jumped by more than a third in four years, calculated at £982million in 2021-22.

footed most of billion pound bill, accounting for an eye-watering £1.04billion of funds lost through hidden savings.

A further £285million was lost through bogus housing benefit claims and fraud.

For the past three financial years, benefit cheats cost the taxpayer over £1billion – with the recent total pocketed by benefit fraudsters up by £68million.

The UK taxpayer was swindled out of £6.6 billion in 2025, with brazen benefit cheats accounting for nearly a fifth.

, chairman of , said Labour have failed to get a hold on welfare and are allowing benefit cheats to exploit the system.

He said: “These figures are shocking. While millions of hardworking Britons do the right thing and pay their taxes, benefit fraudsters are laughing all the way to the bank at the public’s expense.

“Labour has shown it is incapable of getting a grip on a welfare system that is being exploited on an industrial scale.

“Reform UK would crack down on benefit fraud and ensure taxpayers’ money only goes to those who genuinely need it.”

Just this year, benefit cheat mum Aimee Jeffrey, 37, she squandered on clothes and holidays.

Swindler Catherine Wieland, 33, also before she was caught out by snaps of her ziplining in Mexico.

Fraudster Graham Gannon, 63,, all while secretly working 40 hours a week at a holiday park.

Tony Rose, 32, more than 20 metres – ripping £9,000 from the system.

Tina Farnsworth, 57, e was caught pulling pints in a pub.

Helen Whately, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said people are “abusing and gaming our welfare state”, undermining public trust.

She added: “Billions of pounds of taxpayers’ is lost to benefit fraud each year. People are abusing and gaming our welfare state, and this undermines public trust in it.

“After two years in office, Labour is failing on welfare reform, failing on welfare savings and so far they have been failing to stop welfare fraud too.

“The Conservatives would take the hard choices Labour are flunking. We will make £23bn of savings and deliver a welfare state that is there for those who genuinely need it.”

A DWP spokesperson said: “The Government inherited a broken system, but we now have stronger powers to go directly to banks and check what fraudsters are really sitting on as part of a commitment to save £14.6bn over the next five years.

“If you’re hiding savings to claim you’re not entitled to, our message is simple – we will find out, stop the payments and recover money.

“We’re committed to tackling all types of fraud and error and have already reviewed over a million Universal Credit claims via our Targeted Case and stopped £1bn in incorrect payments.”