Government to 'raid benefit cheats bank accounts' in new crackdown on fraud

19 October 2024, 23:03

Benefits cheats could have their bank accounts raided by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) as part of a new crackdown on welfare fraud.

The DWP will be granted powers to take money directly out of bank accounts and wages as part of the push to clamp down on those cheating the system.

Private companies like airlines will also be forced to hand over informations under new plans being drawn up by ministers, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

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Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said that the department's powers had become "outdated" when faced with new and complex methods of fraud.

The total cost of fraud to the economy last year was a record £7.3 billion, official figures show.

A new crackdown is set to be launched as part of Rachel Reeves's first budget next month - with the total savings set to be £1.6 billion over the course of the Parliament.

Writing in The Telegraph, Ms Kendall said: “We’re in an absurd situation where DWP’s powers have not been updated for 20 years, meaning fraudsters have new ways of taking public money, and we need to keep pace with them.

“My team are still, in 2024, sending letters to gather evidence for those suspected of welfare fraud, slowing them down to snail’s pace when they could be shutting down serious fraud cases.

"We’re in an absurd situation where DWP’s powers have not been updated for 20 years, meaning fraudsters have new ways of taking public money, and we need to keep pace with them."

Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, told The Telegraph: “This blank cheque to force private companies to snoop and report on the country’s poorest citizens to the state is intrusive, excessive and will create a culture of fear among millions of people claiming benefits.

“For a Labour government to introduce tough investigatory powers more typical of a counter-terror context to Britain’s welfare system is an alarming attack on privacy and yet another assault on the poor.”

Ms Kendall added that cases such as the one of a Bulgarian fraudster who conned Brits out of £2.2 million over four years by flying phony claimants across to Britain to get benefits.

The government’s Fraud, Error and Debt Bill, will be introduced in the coming months.