DWP to start checking people's bank accounts soon - when and who will be targeted

A plan from the Department for Work and Pensions requiring banks to scan accounts for suspicious activity in a bid to crack down on benefit are due to start from April next year. Despite calls not to launch mass surveillance of bank accounts, the Labour Government is pushing ahead with its "snooper's charter" as it goes after welfare cheats and errors.

The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill aims to protect public money by slashing public sector fraud, error and debt. It includes sweeping new powers and measures such as eligibility verification and monitoring of bank accounts. Ministers insist the information gleaned from such measures won't be collected on the presumption someone is already guilty of an offence.

Experts suggest the DWP is initially focusing on universal credit, pension credit, and employment and support allowance (ESA), Chronicle Live reports.

Part of the Bills' sweeping powers include financial penalties as an alternatives to cases going to court. The Government has insisted fines will serve as "important" deterrents against public sector fraud.

Peers in the House of Lords are due to scrutinise the Bill further on Wednesday (October 15) and again on October 21.

The Government has said the Bill will save £1.5bn over the next five years, help boost investment in public services and protect the public purse.

It is part of wider plans laid out in the Budget and Spring Statement to save £9.6bn by 2030.

Critics have cast doubt on the Bill, with Disability Rights UK, Age UK, Privacy International, Child Poverty Action Group, and Big Brother Watch all having raised concerns.

In a letter to former Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, they warned that imposing suspicionless, algorithmic surveillance on the public has the makings of a Horizon-style IT scandal.

That scandal saw the Post Office wrongly accuse subpostmasters of fraud, leading to wrongful imprisonments as well as personal anguish and financial losses to those affected.

The letter warns: "Pensioners, disabled people, and carers shouldn't have to live in fear of the government prying into their finances."

A DWP spokesperson dismissed the concerns, stating: "These claims are false. These powers will be used appropriately and proportionately through robust new oversight and reporting rules and our staff will be trained to the highest possible standards.

"The information provided by banks is unrelated to DWP algorithms and any signals of potential fraud will always be looked at comprehensively by a member of staff."