The British government will be strengthening the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) by extending its powers to combat benefit abuse. Akin to the authority held by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), this enables the DWP to execute warrants, make arrests, seize items and impose civil penalties on a wider range of individuals.
DWP's New Fraud Bill
PM Rishi Sunak confirmed that the impending Fraud Bill would be the catalyst for such empowerment. Crucially, this legislation is expected to complement the capabilities introduced by the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, allowing the DWP to obtain information from third parties, including financial institutions.
We cannot tolerate those attempting to take advantage of the natural compassion and generosity of the British people,
Through the Bill, Mr Sunak seeks to save UK taxpayers £600 million by strengthening the relevant legislation and preventing the illegal exploitation of the UK's generous welfare system.
Sunak emphasised that the legislation would bring the DWP into line with HMRC, treating benefit fraud in the same way as tax fraud through new powers of seizure and arrest.
He also highlighted the role of modern technologies, such as artificial intelligence, in strengthening the integrity of the social protection system: "All advances in modern technologies, including artificial intelligence, are used to limit exploitation by those who fund the social protection system".
Hailed as one of the biggest changes to benefit fraud laws in more than 20 years, the initiative will save taxpayers £600 million by the 2028-29 tax year.
The government's plan aims to create a welfare system that provides vital support only to those who need it most, guaranteeing dignity and independence.
The Debate over Account Monitoring
Under the current regulations, the DWP can request details of transactions made by account holders on an individual basis if there is reasonable suspicion of fraud.
However, the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill has the potential to give the DWP new powers to access benefit claimants' personal data from third parties such as financial institutions.
Doing so would require massive scrutiny of accounts without suspicion of fraudulent activity - a policy widely debated in Parliament since it was announced last year.
Wendy Scott created an online petition, which over 24,100 people have signed, arguing that "most benefit claimants are not fraudulent actors." The petition characterizes the proposed new approach to accessing bank accounts as "too aggressive towards benefit claimants."
Defending the new measure, the DWP says data is a powerful tool for understanding benefit eligibility. Currently, it uses multiple sources of data to check claims, which significantly reduces other types of fraud and error.
This measure will provide better access to data to establish benefit eligibility, making it more difficult for fraudulent actors to steal from taxpayers. The measure will also address errors by ensuring claimants receive only the correct amount of benefit for which they qualify, preventing inadvertent debt,
They also cleared up any misunderstandings saying that this does not give the DWP access to bank accounts or how claimants spend their money. Instead, the process involves third parties looking at their own data to provide only 'relevant information' to the department.