Proposed new DWP powers include monitoring bank accounts and checking whether claimants are living abroad.
Fraud and error in the benefit system is falling as the UK Government restated its determination to drive levels down further and protect taxpayers’ money, according to new official figures released by the Department for Work and Pensions .
“Cutting fraud delivers on the Prime Minister’s priorities, reducing our national debt and helping to curb inflation by protecting the hard-earned money of taxpayers. The DWP Minister said: “These investigations vary significantly in their nature and complexity and no set time can be attributed to an individual investigation. Our investigators, working with the Crown Prosecution Service where appropriate, seek to expedite all investigations as quickly as possible to ensure the criminal burden of proof is met.”
The new powers would also include requirements for organisations, such as banks, to share data securely on an increased scale to check levels of savings and whether claimants are living abroad. There are also plans to increase DWP officers’ powers to conduct searches, seize evidence, and make arrests.
Failing to inform the state about a 'change of circumstances', for example, that your partner is now living with you, or that you have moved house, or that a relative has died leaving you some money may also be seen as 'fraud by omission'. Usually, benefits-related fraud occurs where someone has claimed benefits to which they were not entitled on purpose, such as by not reporting a change in circumstances or by providing false information.
There is a common misconception that the only people who get investigated for benefits fraud and other offences that involve the DWP are those who are openly scamming the system. In the early stages of an investigation, you may not be told that one is underway until the DWP has assessed whether there is good reason to formally investigate a potential case of fraud.
Investigators may also check your social media accounts and search your online profiles for pictures, location check-ins, and other evidence which may or may not be useful to them.
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