DWP clarifies new powers to ‘monitor’ bank account activity of people on benefits
Employment minister Alison McGovern has clarified that banning benefit cheats from driving would be a “backstop” used in “extreme” cases to target those who repeatedly fail to pay back money to the taxpayer. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is seeking to gain new powers to disqualify drivers and recover money directly from fraudsters’ bank accounts in a move to curb welfare fraud.
The DWP Minister said she was confident that being able to go to court and apply to disqualify drivers who refuse to pay back fraudulently obtained benefits will work. The DWP will also work with banks to see where claimants have more than the £16,000 limit in their accounts and seek to get its own search powers to get evidence rather than relying on the police.
READ MORE: New DWP benefit fraud measures include driving bans and bank account monitoring
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The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, which will put the measures into law, was introduced in Parliament on Wednesday. The three measures in the Bill will help save the taxpayer £1.5 billion over the next five years, the DWP estimates.
Once the Bill is made law, benefit cheats could be disqualified from driving for up to two years if they refuse to repay money they owe.
Courts could suspend fraudsters’ driving licences following application by the DWP if they owe welfare debts of more than £1,000 and have ignored repeated requests to pay it back.
Eligibility Verification Measure
The Department will also have powers to get bank statements from people they believe have enough money to pay back welfare debts, but are refusing to do so. The DWP, however, insists it will not have direct access to people’s bank accounts.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the UK Government was “turning off the tap to criminals who cheat the system and steal law-abiding taxpayers’ money”.
She said the measures would be backed up by new safeguards to ensure powers are used proportionately and safely, and that removing driving licences would be a “last resort”.
In a written statement to Parliament setting out the new Bill, she said: “The powers will not give DWP access to any claimant’s bank accounts, nor any information on how claimants spend their money.
“DWP will not share any personal information with banks or other financial institutions and a member of DWP staff will always be involved in any further investigations and decisions.”
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Wednesday, Ms McGovern said: "Firstly, we want to work with banks to see where people are outside the eligibility criteria and get that information, because that will help us find the fraud.
“Secondly, we need the ability to have search powers ourselves to get evidence, rather than relying on the police, as other bits of government do.
“Finally, we’ve got these backstop powers.”
Money can already be reclaimed through the benefits system or PAYE, however, Ms McGovern explained: “If somebody’s not doing either of those things, then we need more powers to be able to get the money back.
“So, the new powers will be to get that money back through banks. And then, finally, as a backstop power, if after all of that they still don’t want to give us the money back, we want to be able to apply to a court to say ‘disqualify this person for driving’.
“That is a backstop power to make sure that we get this money back.”
In an attempt to provide assurance about the Bill, ministers will bring forward codes of practice for those who will use the new powers. They also plan to introduce new oversight and reporting mechanisms to monitor how the powers are used.
