The benefits system is "stunningly complex" and must be simplified in order to avoid mistakes, a committee of MPs has said.
In a report published on Thursday, the Commons work and pensions committee called for a wholesale review of the entire system, without which it said "meaningful simplification" was impossible.The MPs noted that the Department of Work and Pensions was responsible for 40 different benefits, with different rules applications processes.
And they said the Treasury's tax credits system created "a further layer of complexity".
Official error was inevitable because of the complexity of the system, the committee warned.
It found that the uncertainty put claimants off looking for work, with inaccuracies in the amount of benefits they received.
Criticising a lack of clear vision for a simpler system, the committee called on the government to create a new welfare commission to push reforms through.
Committee chairman Terry Rooney said the benefits system had become "more and more complex" as it has grown, "making it difficult for staff and claimants alike to understand the different rules and processes".
"We welcome the progress that the DWP has made so far in simplifying parts of the system but it is not enough," he added. "The government must commit to a long-term strategy."
Describing last week's welfare green paper as "a missed opportunity", Rooney said the government was failing to consult on the reform of the benefits system.
Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman Danny Alexander said the report "is yet more evidence of the prime minister's obsession with means-tested benefits".
"After 10 years of this government, we have over 40 benefits being paid out by the DWP at hundreds of different rates," he added. "The consequence is that many staff and claimants simply don't understand the system.
"As the committee rightly points out, high levels of fraud and error are inevitable unless we radically overhaul the whole benefits system to make it much simpler."
