Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said the Fraud, Error and Recovery Bill will bring about “greater consequences for fraudsters who cheat and evade the system”, recovering £1.5bn from the welfare bill in the next five years.
The legislation, which will be unveiled in Parliament on Wednesday, will give the DWP the power to recover money directly from the bank accounts of those on benefits or those no longer on benefits who owe the government money - even though their bank accounts suggest they have the means to do so.
In some cases, the government will consider stripping people of their driving licences for up to two years if they refuse to pay up.
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The government’s proposals, however, have certainly sparked some conversations.
One anti-surveillance charity, Big Brother Watch, said that it is not the biggest fraud crackdown in a generation, but one of the biggest assaults on the welfare system in a generation. More than 270,000 people have signed a petition against it.
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Jasmine Andersson
That concludes our coverage
Yahoo News has ended its live coverage for the day.
Do read below for a roundup of events detailing the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.
One of the government's ministers was doing the rounds on morning TV to promote the bill.
Employment minister Alison McGovern told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that she wants to "work with the banks" to help get the information to crack down on fraud.
“We need the ability to have search powers ourselves to get evidence, rather than relying on the police, as other bits of government do.
“And, finally, we’ve got these backstop powers.”
Jasmine Andersson
The universal credit cut-off
One focus of the bill is to look out for universal credit recipients who have not returned significant overpayments and are over the asset limit.
Currently, anyone claiming universal credit cannot have more than £16,000 in savings or assets, including the likes of owning a home.
However, those who have savings between £6000 to £16,000 can still be eligible to claim some benefit payments if they are in need.
Jasmine Andersson
How much benefit money has been lost to fraud and error?
According to the government's statistics, 3.7% of the total spent on benefits was overpaid due to fraud and error last year.
£9.7 billion was overpaid due to fraud and error.
£1.1 billion of total benefit expenditure was underpaid due to fraud and error.
The net loss for the DWP, after accounting for recoveries, was £8.6 billion of its total spend.
Jasmine Andersson
Old news?
While this is the first time a bill like this has reached Parliament, this is not the first time this has been tabled.
The previous government also backed broader powers to obtain banking information in bulk would help investigators catch previously undiscovered fraud cases.
However, the bill to deliver the scheme failed to make it through before the July election.
Harriet Sinclair
Benefits cheats to be banned from the road
People found to have committed benefit fraud could be banned from getting behind the wheel. (Getty)
Benefit cheats face being banned from driving for two years under a proposed new anti-fraud law.
People who owe more than £1,000 in wrongly claimed welfare payments and who have ignored repeated requests to return the money could be punished under the proposed changes.
Other measures to tackle benefit fraud in the legislation include letting investigators directly take the money back from people’s bank accounts.
The National Covid Memorial Wall on the River Thames in London. (Getty)
The Covid PPE scandal still hits the headlines, with millions of pounds believed to have been lost due to dodgy equipment deals and false promises.
It is because of this that the Cabinet Office’s Public Sector Fraud Authority will also be given more powers under the legislation being introduced in Parliament today.
A brand-new measure will see the time limit for civil claims against Covid fraud doubled from six to twelve years.
This will give the Covid Corruption Commissioner and the Public Sector Fraud Authority new powers and more time to investigate complex cases and apply their powers retrospectively - including the ability to raid properties and retrieve money from Covid fraudsters’ bank accounts.
Jasmine Andersson
The crackdown in numbers
The government estimates a £10 billion cost to taxpayers every year as a result of benefits fraud.
Believes the bill will save £1.5 billion over the next five years.
Driving licences could be suspended for people who owe welfare debts of more than £1,000 and have "ignored repeated requests to pay it back."
Accounts could also be flagged if they are holding more than £16,000, the usual savings limit for being able to claim universal credit.
The bill forms part of wider government plans to save a total of £8.6bn over the next years from welfare spending.
Jasmine Andersson
What does the public think?
The government’s proposals have certainly divided opinion.
While the latest YouGov survey suggests the bill has the public’s support - with 64% supporting the proposal in some way - it is very much a concern for privacy campaigners, anti-poverty charities, and the claimants themselves.
One anti-surveillance charity, Big Brother Watch, said that it is not the biggest fraud crackdown in a generation, but one of the biggest assaults on the welfare system in a generation. More than 270,000 people have signed a petition against it.
On the wider issue of benefits fraud, a study by the National Centre for Social Research, published in October 2023 and using responses from 2016 onwards, found that most people thought it was wrong – but that attitude had decreased over time. The study found that there has been a growing tolerance towards benefits fraud.
Jasmine Andersson
What do we know so far?
The government wants to strip repeat offenders of their driving licences for up to two years. (Getty)
Ahead of the bill's introduction to parliament, some of the key details of the crackdown have already been released.
Those who owe more than £1,000 and have repeatedly refused to pay the money back could be disqualified from driving for up to two years.
The government will be able toget bank statements from people they believe have enough cash to pay back welfare debts, but are refusing to do so.
The Public Sector Fraud Authority will be given more powers to tackle Covid-era fraud.
They will also be given the ability to apply to courts for search warrants It means that for the first time, they will be able to support police and search premises and seize items such as computers and smartphones as evidence.
However, the government will not have direct access to people’s bank accounts.
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said the Fraud, Error and Recovery Bill will bring about “greater consequences for fraudsters who cheat and evade the system”, recovering £1.5bn from the welfare bill in the next five years.
The legislation will give the DWP the power to recover money directly from the bank accounts of those on benefits or those no longer on benefits who owe the government money - even though their bank accounts suggest they have the means to do so.
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