The information came to light after the government department published its annual report and accounts last week and shows that among the government department’s expenditure list, there was a payment of £87.9m made to HMRC during the 2020-21 financial year.

The payment was listed as ‘Fruitless payments’ on the annual report with an explanation of the payment underneath.

In March 2020, the DWP received a Letter of Offer from HMRC that formally concluded its review of IR35 implementation in DWP.