Benefits news latest: DWP to ban fraudsters from driving, Liz Kendall announces
The government will unveil plans to crack down on benefit fraud in the Commons on Wednesday
The government will unveil plans to crack down on benefit fraud by investigating claimants’ bank accounts and stripping them of their driving licences.
Work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall said the Fraud, Error and Recovery Bill will bring about “greater consequences for fraudsters who cheat and evade the system”, recovering £1.5bn from the welfare bill in the next five years.
The legislation, which will be unveiled in Parliament on Wednesday, will give the DWP the power to recover money directly from the bank accounts of those on benefits or those no longer on benefits who owe the government money - even though their bank accounts suggest they have the means to do so.
In some cases, the government will consider stripping people of their driving licences for up to two years if they refuse to pay up.
The government’s proposals, however, have certainly sparked some conversations.
One anti-surveillance charity, Big Brother Watch, said that it is not the biggest fraud crackdown in a generation, but one of the biggest assaults on the welfare system in a generation. More than 270,000 people have signed a petition against it.
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