It's predicted to assistance prevention the payer £1.5 cardinal implicit the adjacent 5 years
- Ryan Merrifield, Senior News Reporter
- Published: 6:56, 22 Jan 2025
- Updated: 6:56, 22 Jan 2025
BENEFIT cheats could beryllium banned from driving if they repeatedly neglect to wage backmost currency to the taxpayer, nether a caller Government thrust to curb payment fraud.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) volition besides beryllium capable to retrieve wealth straight from fraudsters' slope accounts, successful what has been dubbed the biggest fraud crackdown successful a generation.
The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, which would enactment the measures into law, is owed to beryllium introduced successful Parliament connected Wednesday.
It volition assistance prevention the payer £1.5 cardinal implicit the adjacent 5 years, the DWP estimates.
Once the Bill is made law, payment cheats could beryllium disqualified from driving for up to 2 years if they garbage to repay wealth they owe.
Courts could suspend fraudsters' driving licences pursuing exertion by the DWP, if they beryllium payment debts of much than £1,000 and person ignored repeated requests to wage it back.
The section volition besides person powers to get slope statements from radical they judge person capable currency to wage backmost payment debts, but are refusing to bash so.
The DWP nevertheless insists it volition not person nonstop entree to people's slope accounts.
"We are turning disconnected the pat to criminals who cheat the strategy and bargain law-abiding taxpayers' money," Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said.
She added: "This means greater consequences for fraudsters who cheat and evade the system, including arsenic a past edifice successful the astir superior cases removing their driving licence. Backed up by caller and important safeguards including reporting mechanisms and autarkic oversight to guarantee the powers are utilized proportionately and safely.
"People request to person assurance the Government is opening each disposable doors to tackle fraud and destruct waste, arsenic we proceed the astir ambitious programme for authorities successful a procreation - with a laser-like absorption connected outcomes which volition marque the biggest quality to their lives arsenic portion of our Plan for Change."
In an effort to supply assurance astir the Bill, ministers volition bring guardant codes of signifier for those who volition usage the caller powers.
They besides program to present caller oversight and reporting mechanisms to show however the powers are used.
Elsewhere successful the Bill, the Public Sector Fraud Authority volition beryllium fixed much powers to tackle Covid-era fraud.
Helen Whately, the shadiness enactment and pensions secretary, welcomed the measures, and claimed they were a "continuation" of the Conservatives' enactment successful power.
She added: "But having knowingly appointed a convicted fraudster to his cabinet, Keir Starmer cannot beryllium trusted to get pugnacious connected fraud.
"Labour indispensable bash much to tackle the spiralling payment budget, and explicate wherefore they are yet to lucifer our £12 cardinal successful savings - raising the imaginable that Rachel Reeves volition beryllium backmost again aboriginal this twelvemonth with different taxation raid connected moving people."