DWP to tackle social security fraud in three ways to find 'lost money'
A new 'Fraud, Error and Debt Bill' will be introduced in the UK Parliament later this year - it will give the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) several new powers in a bid to crackdown on benefit fraud
by Lauren Haughey · PlymouthLiveSir Keir Starmer is gearing up to intensify efforts against 'fraud and error' in the social security system, which currently costs the taxpayer an eye-watering £10 billion annually. The new 'Fraud, Error and Debt Bill' was announced as the Prime Minister made his first party conference address since July's general election.
He underscored the importance of 'stabilising' the UK's economy as a preliminary step in his broader strategy, highlighting that clamping down on benefit fraud was crucial to this plan. "If we want to maintain support for the welfare state, then we will legislate to stop benefit fraud," he said at the time.
"Do everything we can to tackle worklessness." Later he added: "Taking back control is a Labour argument. It’s why I say we are rebalancing our country to serve working people."
The proposed legislation aims not only to address overpayments but also to enhance the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)'s capabilities significantly. This includes granting the DWP additional investigative powers, such as 'new powers of search and seizure', to better probe suspected fraud cases.
This move will bolster the DWP's capacity to pursue 'criminal gangs defrauding the taxpayer'. Moreover, the bill seeks to tighten the reins on debt recovery, ensuring that individuals who can pay their debts but choose not to will be more effectively targeted.
The DWP has outlined that this strategy will usher in 'greater fairness to debt recoveries'. "Fraud and error in the social security system currently costs the taxpayer almost £10 billion a year and since the pandemic a total of £35 billion of taxpayers’ money has been taken away from those who need it most," the DWP explains.
"The nature of fraud has also become more sophisticated, meaning without new legal powers, DWP cannot properly keep pace with the changing nature of fraud to tackle it robustly enough." While full details will be disclosed once the Bill is presented, estimates suggest it may claw back '£1.6 billion over the next five years' that's lost to fraud within the social security framework.
With an eye on protecting those at risk, the DWP says: "Staff will be trained to the highest standards on the appropriate use of any new powers, and we will introduce new oversight and reporting mechanisms, to monitor these new powers. DWP will not have access to people’s bank accounts and will not share their personal information with third parties."
Nonetheless, there's been pushback against the proposal. Fran Heathcote, General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union is among them, claiming that ministers should make our social security system 'less punitive and more supportive'.
She said: "Our members working in the DWP and in jobcentres want more powers to support people into work – to help people, not trip them up. The UK has some of the lowest levels of benefits in Europe.
"Those that do overclaim often do so in error, struggling to navigate a complex system, or because they can’t make ends meet on our poverty-level benefits. The government should focus on making our social security system less punitive and more supportive."
Meanwhile, Big Brother Watch director Silkie Carlo is also concerned about the privacy of benefits recipients, adding: "Everyone wants fraud to be dealt with, and the government already has strong powers to investigate the bank statements of suspects.
“But to force banks to constantly spy on benefits recipients without suspicion means that not only millions of disabled people, pensioners and carers will be actively spied on but the whole population’s bank accounts are likely to be monitored for no good reason."
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