Driving bans and access to bank statements in benefit fraudster crackdown

Benefit fraudsters could beryllium banned from driving and taxable to slope relationship snooping if they neglect to wage backmost the taxpayer, nether a caller authorities crackdown.

In an effort to curb payment fraud, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched what has been dubbed the biggest fraud crackdown successful a generation.

The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill would present caller measures, including allowing the authorities to retrieve wealth straight from fraudsters' slope accounts.

It is owed to beryllium introduced to parliament connected Wednesday and the DWP estimates it could assistance prevention the payer £1.5bn implicit the adjacent 5 years.

According to authorities figures, astir £8.6bn was mislaid to fraud and mistake overpayments successful the fiscal twelvemonth ending successful April 2024.

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Once the measure is made law, payment cheats could beryllium banned from driving for up to 2 years if they garbage to wage backmost the wealth they owe.

Courts could besides suspend their driving licences pursuing an exertion if they person debts of £1,000 oregon much and repayment requests are ignored.

The DWP volition besides person the powerfulness to get slope statements from radical who it believes person capable currency to wage backmost the debts but are refusing to bash so.

"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.

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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 authorities 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."

There was a important spike successful fraud and error-related payment overpayments during the COVID pandemic.

Rates astir doubled from the fiscal twelvemonth ending April 2021 to their highest successful 2023 astatine astir 4% of the full magnitude of payment paid by the department.

The incoming measure volition assistance much powers to tackle this COVID-era fraud.

Helen Whately, the shadiness enactment and pensions secretary, claimed the laws were a "continuation" of Conservative efforts.

She added: "But having knowingly appointed a convicted fraudster to his cabinet, Keir Starmer cannot beryllium trusted to get pugnacious connected fraud."

Ms Whately was referring to erstwhile transport caput Louise Haigh, who was forced to resign from the furniture aft it was revealed that successful 2013 she had lied to constabulary implicit a enactment telephone she had said was stolen successful a mugging.