DWP announces when it'll start to check bank accounts in crackdown

DWP will check bank accounts amid a crackdown and clampdown on fraudulent claims from benefit claimants.

A state pension fraud update has been issued as the Department for Work and Pensions explains when it will check bank accounts. The DWP will check bank accounts amid a crackdown and clampdown on fraudulent claims from benefit claimants.

Pensions secretary Mel Stride told Parliament the proposed new powers will only be used in instances where there is “a clear signal of fraud and error”. He was responding to a question from fellow Conservative MP, Nigel Mills, who wanted to know if officials would be checking every state pensioner’s bank account for illegal activity.

Mr Stride said in his reply: “There has been a great deal of scaremongering about what exactly these powers are about. I can make it categorically clear from the dispatch box that these powers are there to make sure that, in instances where there is a clear signal of fraud or error, my department is able to take action. In the absence of that, it will not.”

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Mr Stride said: “These new powers send a very clear message to benefit fraudsters – we won’t stand for it. These people are taking the taxpayer for a ride and it is right that we do all we can to bring them to justice. These powers will be used proportionately, ensuring claimants’ data is safely protected while rooting out fraudsters at the earliest possible opportunity.”

Currently, the DWP can only undertake fraud checks on a claimant on an individual basis, where there is already a suspicion of fraud. The new proposals and rules from the government would allow regular checks to be carried out.

They will be conducted on bank accounts held by benefit claimants to spot increases in their savings that push them over the benefit eligibility threshold, or when people spend more time overseas than the benefit rules allow for.