More than £21 million was overpaid in social welfare benefits last year, the report found.
Some 15,252 overpayments, totalling £5.03 million, were made in the area of social insurance. Some 18,110 overpayments, totalling £16.22 million, were made in social assistance. The total figure for last year is mariginally down on each of the previous two years, when more than £22 million was overpaid.
Almost half of the overpayments figure was attributed to fraud or suspected fraud.
