Benefit cheats, fraudsters and debtors who can afford to repay but refuse will have money taken directly from their bank accounts or lose their driver's licence under tough new laws approved today
The Public Authorities (Fraud Error and Recovery) Act gives the Department for Work and Pensions extra powers to catch fraudsters, prevent overpayment and protect taxpayer’s money.
As a result, DWP are now set to save the taxpayer £1.5 billion by 2029/2030 by being given now access to new data, modern tools and more powers to investigate fraud and recover money lost to benefit overpayments. This is part of Government’s commitment to savings of £14.6 billion up to the end of 2030/31 from fraud, error and debt activity, which includes investment to deploy up to 3,000 additional staff and strengthen our data, analytics and investigative capability.
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This comes as the Chancellor announced plans at the Budget to accelerate efforts to drive out incorrectness by extending the Targeted Case Review, which will save an additional £1.2 billion in 2030-31. This ensures the government can fund measures like the scrapping of the two-child limit to lift 450,000 children out of poverty, drive up living standards and deliver on the Plan for Change.
Minister for Transformation Andrew Western MP said:
The government has chosen to act decisively with modern fraud prevention powers that match the sophistication of today’s threats, after inherited out-of-control levels of fraud and error were costing the taxpayer around £10 billion a year.
Under the new powers, DWP will now also get data from banks to help ensure those who receive benefits are getting the correct payments, helping prevent people falling into debt and helping DWP spot fraudulent claims.
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Under this Eligibility Verification Measure, no personal information will be shared by DWP, which will not have access to people’s bank accounts in verifying eligibility or be able to see where people are spending their money.
Protections are central to the Bill, making sure there is proportionate and effective use of the powers, and that DWP is protecting vulnerable customers. Staff will be trained to the highest standards on the appropriate use of new powers, and we will introduce new oversight and reporting mechanisms.
The Cabinet Office’s Public Sector Fraud Authority will also be given more powers under the legislation progressing through to the House of Lords today.
Cabinet Office Minister Josh Simons said:
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