Benefit and pension fraud and official errors totalled £53 million in Northern Ireland last year, it has been revealed.

A National Audit Office report published on Friday found a £20 million increase in fraud and error, representing four per cent of total expenditure on benefits and pensions.

Losses through error and fraud had doubled over the past two years, despite a series of government efforts aimed at combating the problem.

Payments are made from National Insurance contributions and are administered by the Department for Social Development.

The biggest mistakes were in retirement pensions and bereavement payouts, where an estimated £39.3 million was overpaid in 2002/03, compared to £7.9 million in 2000/01.

The report found that £12.6 million in incapacity benefits was overpaid and £3.7 million underpaid, while jobseeker's allowance accounted for £0.1 million of the errors.

"I have qualified this account because of high levels of estimated fraud and official error in the payment of benefits from the Northern Ireland National Insurance Fund," said auditor general Sir John Bourn.

"I note the measures being taken by the department to reduce fraud and error and will review progress as part of my audit of the 2003/04 account to see whether the desired outcomes are being achieved."

The Department for Social Development defended the government's record.

"While the £53 million stated by the National Audit Office is a very significant figure, it should also be noted that the overall accuracy for processing the benefits referred to in the report is around 96 per cent," said a statement.