Everything to know about DWP’s new powers over bank accounts and driving licences
The government is vowing to crack down on benefit fraudsters after such offences reportedly cheated the DWP out of £7 billion last year alone. New legislation is set to be introduced in Parliament today, Wednesday, January 22, which will if approved extend the department’s powers to investigate, reclaim and punish offenders.
But what does this mean for ordinary, legitimate claimants? If a person defrauds the benefit system of £1,000 or more, the new legislation would allow the department to potentially suspend their driving licence for up to two years.
This is only if previous requests and plans to repay the debt have been ignored by the fraudster. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall, commented to say: “We are turning off the tap to criminals who cheat the system and steal law-abiding taxpayers’ money.
READ MORE: DVLA warning as common medications could see you banned from driving
READ MORE: DWP key updates for PIP recipients - what you do not need to report
"This means greater consequences for fraudsters who cheat and evade the system, including as a last resort in the most serious cases removing their driving licence.” Investigators are also expected to get extended powers to apply to courts for search warrants.
This would enable them to support police when heading into a fraudster’s premises and potentially seizing items to be used as evidence in the case. This can include computers and smartphones.
Additionally, the bill would allow the DWP to “recover money directly from bank accounts” of those who owe the department but refuse to pay. It could also request bank statements as evidence that the person has sufficient funds to fairly repay their debt.
The official Government announcement said: “DWP will not have direct access to people’s bank accounts.” Overall, these changes are unlikely to affect legitimate benefit claimants, says the DWP, but officials say the entire Bill isn’t just about tackling benefit fraudsters.
It will also reportedly introduce safeguarding measures to help protect the most vulnerable DWP customers. The announcement said “modernising the approach to catching fraudsters, preventing overpayments and introducing new safeguards to further protect vulnerable customers means the DWP can keep pace with the sophisticated nature of fraud, while also ensuring law-abiding customers get the right benefits – preventing them from falling further into debt.”
Elsewhere in the Bill, the Cabinet Office’s Public Sector Fraud Authority will also be getting a fresh extension of power in a brand new measure. This will extend the time limit for civil claims against Covid fraud.
The current limits of six years will be doubled to 12 years to allow the Covid Corruption Commissioner and Public Sector Fraud Authority more time to investigate complex cases and apply their new powers retrospectively. These other new powers include the ability to raid properties and retrieve money from the Covid fraudsters’ bank accounts.
Georgia Gould, Minister in the Cabinet Office, said: “During the pandemic, when people and businesses needed government support the most, some people stole public money for their own personal gain. This legislation gives the government tough new powers that can be used to investigate and recover money stolen from the public during Covid and doubles the time we have to bring fraudsters to justice."