Benefits cheats using this trick are costing the taxpayer as much as £1.1bn a year

Hundreds of “single swindlers” who lie about their living situation have cost the the taxpayer an estimated £3.9bn in the last four years

Couples are costing the taxpayer as much as £1.1bn a year by pretending to live alone, according to figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The trick means that benefit applicants are being assessed on the basis of a single person’s income, which entitles them to higher payments, rather than a joint income.

Hundreds of “single swindlers” who lie about their living situation have cost the the taxpayer an estimated £3.9bn in the last four years, while some statisticians suggest the figure could be as high as £4.5bn.

Joanna Marchong, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, told the Telegraph: “Taxpayers will be left seething by these single swindlers. As the Government seeks to sort out the public finances, failing to ignore the billions that are being lost by this benefit fraud would be a breach of trust with Britons. The DWP should clamp down on this before these swindlers spiral out of control.”

The DWP has set up benefit fraud squads to track down offenders, who use social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and Twitter to track down those lying about living with their partners.

In one case, mother-of-six Emma Buck, 49, defrauded the taxpayer of £85,000 in benefits by saying that she was separated from her partner. In fact, he had a key to their home and used the address on his own paperwork. She was spared jail after admitting the offences. Another case in 2021 saw Claire Finney, 42, who fraudulently claimed nearly £100,000, ordered to pay back just £11 a month. She had spent the money on five-star holidays in Cyprus. It would take her more than 700 years to repay the taxpayer in full.

Another fraudster’s deception unravelled when her partner paid their internet bills. Becky Reed, 30, of Colburn, claimed she was a single mother between 2016 and 2021, and claimed £75,000. She was handed a 20-month suspended sentence in 2023. Estimates suggest that £7.4bn in benefits was fraudulently claimed in the last year, the equivalent of £20m every day. Another £2.4bn was paid out in error – meaning fraud and error accounted for £9.8bn of the £266bn benefits bill in 2023.

Other kinds of benefits fraud include working and claiming, failure to disclose assets, and landlord fraud, when a landlord knows a council tenant has moved out but continues to charge the authorities rent. The maximum prison sentence for a conspiracy to defraud is 10 years, according to the Sentencing Council. Other punishments include fines and permanent criminal records.

It comes after Labour was rumoured to be considering axing the single-person council tax discount – a decision ministers have since ruled out. Those who live alone are entitled to 25 percent off their council tax bills, to reflect the fact that they benefit less from council services than families or couples. As of 2023, 8.4m Britons, including many older people, live alone.

A DWP spokesman said: “This government will not tolerate fraud or waste anywhere in public services, including in the social security system. We are determined to reduce fraud and error and are currently exploring all options on how best to achieve our goal.”