DWP Gains Sweeping New Powers to Tackle Benefit Fraud, Including Access to Bank Accounts and £300 Fines

The DWP has announced new measures to tackle benefit fraud, which currently costs taxpayers almost £10bn each year. The proposed Fraud, Error and Debt Bill will give investigators the power to request details of accounts linked to benefits, directly withdraw funds from bank accounts to recover debts, and apply to courts to seize assets. These measures aim to prevent fraud entering the system and reduce the £90 million lost to fraud and error in the Personal Independence Payment system in 2023/24.

The new powers will include safeguards to protect vulnerable individuals, with officials confirming they will "only be used once efforts to engage and secure voluntary repayment have been unsuccessful". Trained, authorised officers will exercise these powers with independent oversight throughout the process. Individuals will have several options to challenge decisions, including making representations, applying to vary orders, requesting an internal review, and appealing to a tribunal.

Experts have raised concerns about the "intrusive" measures, which could permit agents to spy on "everybody's bank accounts". Labour's new Fraud, Error and Debt Bill has been warned against "blanket, phishing-style power" which would usually be confined for use in civil or criminal investigations. However, the DWP has defended the decision, stating that the Bill includes an Eligibility Verification Measure which will require banks to share limited data on claimants who may wrongly be receiving benefits, and that it has an obligation to protect public funds.