Labour have today introduced a bill which will give the DWP powers of entry, search and seizure and will oblige banks to check their datasets for evidence of benefit fraud by customers.
The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill mimics previous Conservative government legislation, which failed due to the calling of an early election by Rishi Sunak.
In a statement to the House of Commons today, Liz Kendall, secretary of state for work and pensions, explained that amongst the bill’s provisions are:
- Powers of entry, search and seizure for DWP staff where there is a suspicion of serious organised crime.
- Giving the DWP the power to apply to courts for a Suspended Driving Disqualification Order, to disqualify a person who owes the DWP money from holding a driving licence.
- Through the DWP’s Eligibility Verification Measure, require banks and other financial institutions to examine their own data sets to highlight where someone may not be eligible for the benefits that are being paid.
- The DWP claim that there are safeguards built into the new measures.
Entry, search and seizure powers will be subject to independent inspection and complaints procedures.
DWP power over banks will not give them access to individual bank accounts or information on how claimants spend their money.
Other measure in the bill include:
- The DWP will have the power to make direct deduction orders to take a regular payment or a lump sum from the account of a person who owes them money. This will include taking money from joint accounts if the debtor does not have a sole account. It will also include taking “cryptoassets”. In addition, the bank will have the power to charge a fee to the account holder for the cost of removing the money from their account.
- The DWP will have the power to make deduction from earnings orders which allow it to take money directly from the wages of an employed person who owes them money. Employers will have the power to deduct further sums from the employee’s wages in order to cover the administrative costs of the deductions from earnings order.
- The DWP may impose a civil penalty on anyone who, the DWP is satisfied on the balance of probabilities, helped another person commit – or attempt to commit - fraud. This applies both to individuals and organisations. The civil penalty can be up to 100% of the amount that was fraudulently obtained, or would have been obtained if the fraud had been successful.
- The DWP will have the power to issue an “information notice” to a wider range of organisations requiring them to provide specified information where there is a reasonable suspicion that fraud has been, or may be, committed. The information may relate to the person suspected of fraud or a member of their family. The DWP can impose a civil penalty on an organisation which fails to comply with an information notice.
You can read Liz Kendall’s statement here.
You can download a copy of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill from this link
