DWP's New Fraud Bill Raises Concerns About Intrusive Bank Account Monitoring

DWP's New Fraud Bill Raises Concerns About Intrusive Bank Account Monitoring

The Labour government's new Fraud, Error and Debt Bill, currently making its way through parliament, has sparked concerns about intrusive measures that could allow the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to monitor everyone's bank accounts.

The bill, which aims to crack down on benefit fraud, grants the DWP the power to request information from claimants' bank accounts. This echoes a similar plan proposed by the Conservative government that was put on hold due to the general election.

However, experts and privacy advocates have raised concerns about the bill's potential for overreach. Jasleen Chaggar, legal and policy officer at Big Brother Watch, warned that the measures could target everyone's bank accounts, not just those of benefit claimants.

"Even if you are a benefits recipient, you can appoint an individual—a parent, a guardian, an appointed person or your landlord—to receive the benefit on your behalf, so those people will also be pulled into the net of surveillance," she explained.

The DWP has defended the bill, stating that it will be bolstered by safeguards to protect vulnerable customers and that staff will be trained to use the new powers appropriately. However, concerns remain about the "eligibility verification powers" that will allow the DWP to request data from banks to identify applicants who do not meet the eligibility criteria for benefits.

Helena Wood, director of public policy and strategic engagement at Cifas, called these powers "very new and incredibly intrusive." She argued that they could become a "blanket, phishing-style power" typically reserved for civil or criminal investigations.

The DWP has responded to the criticisms, stating that the bill's Eligibility Verification Measure will only require banks to share limited data on claimants who may be wrongly receiving benefits, such as those with savings exceeding the £16,000 limit for Universal Credit. They emphasize that this measure does not involve access to benefit claimants' bank accounts.

The government maintains that the bill is necessary to protect public funds and is expected to save taxpayers £1.5 billion over the next five years. However, concerns about the potential for intrusive surveillance and the lack of a clear code of practice continue to linger.