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Home News Driving Bans For Benefit Fraudsters: Government Proposes Tougher Penalties

Driving Bans For Benefit Fraudsters: Government Proposes Tougher Penalties

by Celia

The government is proposing tough new measures that could strip convicted benefit cheats of their driving licences if they fail to repay their debts to taxpayers.

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Under the new plans, individuals who repeatedly cheat the system and owe £1,000 or more could face a driving ban of up to two years. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall stated that the legislation aims to create “greater consequences for fraudsters who cheat and evade the system.”

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The draft law also includes proposals to give authorities new powers to access bank account information of benefit claimants to help identify fraudulent claims. This move mirrors a similar plan from the previous Conservative government, though it is expected to face strong opposition from both banks and privacy advocates.

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The new law would also enhance the powers of the Public Sector Fraud Authority, allowing it more time to investigate complex fraud cases, especially those related to the pandemic.

Under current laws, repeat benefit cheats can already face prison sentences for the most serious cases. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Employment Minister Alison McGovern emphasized that fraud against the social security system is unacceptable, highlighting the importance of protecting funds for people who depend on them, including state pensions and benefits for families.

Ministers believe that expanding access to banking data could save taxpayers up to £1.6 billion over five years by enabling more effective identification of fraudulent claims. However, privacy groups have raised concerns about the potential for invasive surveillance and the risk of wrongly targeting legitimate claimants.

In a letter to Kendall, Big Brother Watch and Age UK described the proposed measures as “mass financial surveillance powers” and warned they could lead to privacy violations.

Currently, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) can request financial information only when there is a specific suspicion of fraud. The previous government had argued that granting broader powers would help catch more undiscovered fraud cases. A bill to expand these powers failed to pass before the July election, but the Labour government has now introduced its own version.

Under Labour’s plan, only “very limited information” would be shared with the DWP. While the details of the system are still being developed, it is expected that account flags could be triggered if claimants are “living abroad” without notifying the department or if they have more than £16,000 in savings, the threshold for claiming Universal Credit.

Unlike the previous Conservative plan, the new system would exclude state pension payments from scrutiny. Ministers have reassured the public that the DWP will not directly access bank accounts, but campaigners argue that the new powers would still allow the department to instruct banks to disclose information.

The government’s proposed changes are part of a broader effort to crack down on benefit fraud and prevent money from being lost through dishonest claims.

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