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Universal Credit bosses have been criticised for the staggering number of errors they are making with the new welfare scheme.

There are more mistakes with paying Universal Credit than with any other benefit.

And now ministers have been told to investigate after new estimates showed benefits overpayments and underpayments have reached their highest levels.

Excessive payments of benefits excluding state pensions increased 4.6 per cent to £4.0 billion last year, the National Audit Office said on Thursday.

At the same time the Department of Work and Pensions was estimated to have underpaid claimants by £1.9 billion, an increase of 2.2 per cent in a year.

These are the highest figures since the current method for estimating fraud and error was introduced in 2005/06.

(Image: Getty Images)

Overpayment of the Conservatives' flagship benefits reform, Universal Credit , was the highest measured at 8.6 per cent.

And the NAO said that the roll-out of the reform is likely to lead to an increase in overpayments during the next six years.

Frank Field, the MP who chairs the Work and Pension Committee, said: "In the DWP's fantastical predictions, Universal Credit was supposed to reduce error.

"Instead it is the most error-riddled of all benefits, and it's only getting worse.

"DWP wasted billions of pounds of public money on error last year alone - running at the highest levels since it started counting - but that doesn't begin to count the human cost."

(Image: Richard Williams)

Meg Hillier, chairwoman of the Committee of Public Accounts, said the watchdog had "long been warning that Universal Credit will be challenging to administer because of the many variables in life".

"The fact that the error rate is so high underlines these concerns.

"The Government needs to recognise the impact in people and reduce the error rate," the Labour MP added.

"The impact of an error can be devastating for individuals and families on low incomes."

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said the department must "work to understand the reasons for high fraud and error rates for Universal Credit".

"The value of fraud and error in benefit spending is a longstanding and costly issue for the department," he added.

Tell us YOUR Universal Credit stories Are you on Universal Credit, about to apply for it, or being moved across to it from existing benefits? We want to hear YOUR stories. We are especially interested in talking to an individual or family from the West Midlands to follow your Universal Credit experiences from the beginning. And if you're already on Universal Credit and having problems, we want to hear from you too. Be sure to include the location where you are based. Write to: david.bentley@reachplc.com newsdesk@birminghamlive.co.uk or send a message to our social media pages: Birmingham Live on Facebook Birmingham Live on Twitter

The DWP, however, said that there had been no overall increase in the overall rate of fraud and error when taking into account state pensions, which have typically very low rates.

"We rely on accurate information and updates from claimants to ensure we provide the right benefits, and are continuously improving this system," a spokeswoman added.

"A minority of people abuse the system and we continue to challenge them using the full range of penalties at our disposal."