The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced a new team of 2,500 members to crack down on benefits fraud.
The team will scrutinise Universal Credit claims and may access information from bank accounts to detect fraudulent activity. The DWP has managed to claw back £1.3 billion from fraud and error in the past year through its stringent measures.
Last year, anti-fraud and error operations led to the exposure of a £53.9 million Universal Credit scam, which was labelled as Britain's largest-ever benefit fraud case. In a strategy revealed today, the DWP aims to save £9 billion over the next four years. As part of this initiative, it is recruiting 2,500 investigators to verify the accuracy of millions of Universal Credit claims.
Additionally, the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill currently being reviewed in Parliament will assist the Department, in partnership with third parties such as banks, to identify claims indicative of potential fraud and error. The proposed legislation will also give DWP staff the power to conduct home raids and make arrests, reports Plymouth Live.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced a partnership with banks to examine the bank accounts of those suspected of fraud, looking out for excessive savings and tracking their fiscal dealings. A new civil fine will also be launched to penalise fraudsters, and there's a £70 million investment set aside for sophisticated data analytics.
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In an official statement, the DWP said: "These measures will mean those who wish to exploit the natural compassion and generosity of the British people will have nowhere to hide." In a move expected by the DWP to recoup an additional £600 million, the newly proposed information gathering bill is to grant permission for banks to spill the beans on potential fraudsters to investigators. This comes as a follow-up to last month's sweeping reforms to the welfare system put forward by the Prime Minister, which included a new bill targeting benefit fraud to be launched in the next parliamentary session.
The DWP is committed to bringing its investigative powers into line with those of HMRC concerning tax issues, such as gaining the ability to carry out arrests, and conducting searches and seizures under warrant. Its also pledging a modernisation drive for its information-gathering powers to make the process of either confirming or dispelling fraud more efficient.
Mel Stride, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said: "We are scaling up the fight against those stealing from the taxpayer, building on our success in stopping £18 billion going into the wrong hands in 2022-23. With new legal powers, better data and thousands of additional staff, our comprehensive plan ensures we have the necessary tools to tackle the scourge of benefit fraud."
In their efforts to clamp down on benefit fraud, DWP is upping its manpower by hiring over 2,500 external personnel temporarily as part of the Targeted Case Review designed to spot inaccuracies in Universal Credit claims. This move, coupled with DWP's own internal team involved in the review, will see nearly 6,000 people working to halt benefit fraud.
In a bid to strengthen their arsenal against fraudsters, DWP is contemplating imposing a new civil penalty. This could potentially expand the variety of cases that can incur a punishment when not prosecuted by the courts, and even enhance the value of the civil penalty.
Alongside this, DWP intends to incorporate changes to Universal Credit including new semi-automated checks on self-employed income, fresh online prompts urging claimants to validate their circumstances (such as cohabitation status), and heightened scrutiny on assets when individuals apply for the benefit to confirm eligibility.
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