Written question asked by Lord Hammond of Runnymede (Conservative) on Tuesday, 25 July 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 9 October 2006. It was answered by James Plaskitt (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 November 2006 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Error Task Force

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the total value is of erroneous benefit payments identified by the Error Task Force;

Answer: The official error task force was established with the specific aim of reducing official error in the payment of income support, jobseekers allowance, pension credit and disability living allowance. The first set of official error estimates covering the task force period are due to be published in summer 2007.As at October 2006, total set up and running costs relating to the task force since its establishment are approximately £132,000. The task force has been set the target of helping to bring about a significant reduction in the level of official error by the end of its first year of operation.There are currently 12 staff involved with the error task force, 10 of whom participate on a part-time basis.

Secondary information