DWP crackdown laid bare on UK drivers who refuse to pay back taxpayer cash

The DWP whitethorn prohibition radical from driving if they don’t repay taxpayer’s wealth successful a crackdown connected payment fraud it hopes volition prevention an estimated £1.5 cardinal implicit 5 years.

As good arsenic suspending driving licences, the authorities could instrumentality wealth consecutive from the slope accounts of benefits cheats.

Anyone who repeatedly refuses to repay taxpayer’s wealth could soon person their driving licence suspended for 2 years. Benefit cheats could besides person currency taken straight retired of their slope accounts by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) arsenic portion of the government’s crackdown connected payment fraud. that was announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer past year.

The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, volition beryllium introduced successful Parliament connected January 29. It aims to prevention taxpayers an estimated £1.5 cardinal implicit the adjacent 5 years, according to DWP projections. Labour accidental the existent level of fraud wrong the payment strategy is costing the payer astir £10billion a twelvemonth and since the pandemic a full of £35billion of taxpayers’ wealth has been lost.

Once the measures person been made law, fraudsters who garbage to repay debts could beryllium disqualified from driving for up to 2 years. Following an exertion from the DWP, courts whitethorn suspend licences of anyone owing much than £1,000 who hasn't paid backmost the money.

In different effort to "turn disconnected the tap" to fraudsters, the DWP volition beryllium fixed authorization to request slope statements from anyone who hasn’t returned wealth but who it believes has the powerfulness to bash so. It won’t beryllium capable to straight entree slope accounts though. Covid-era fraud volition besides beryllium addressed successful the measure with the Public Sector Fraud Authority being fixed much powers.

'We're turning disconnected the pat to criminals cheating the system'

Liz Kendall, the enactment and pensions secretary, said: "We are turning disconnected the pat to criminals who cheat the strategy and bargain law-abiding taxpayers’ money. This means greater consequences for fraudsters who cheat and evade the system, including, 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."

She went connected to explicate the determination is portion of the government’s wider program to retrieve wealth and bring astir change. "People request to person assurance [that] 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," she added.

In an effort to reassure radical astir the implications of the bill, ministers volition present codes of signifier for those who usage the caller powers. There volition besides beryllium caller reporting mechanisms and oversights to support cheque connected however the measures are being carried out.

Helen Whately, the shadiness enactment and pensions secretary, said the plans were a continuation of enactment the Conservatives had been doing anterior to Labour coming to power. "Labour indispensable bash much to tackle the spiralling payment budget, and explicate wherefore they are yet to lucifer our £12bn successful savings," she said earlier adding determination is the prospect, "Rachel Reeves volition beryllium backmost again aboriginal this twelvemonth with different taxation raid connected moving people."

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