Benefit cheats to be banned from the road
22 January 2025 12:01am GMT
Benefit cheats face being banned from driving for two years under a proposed new anti-fraud law.
People who owe more than £1,000 in wrongly claimed welfare payments and who have ignored repeated requests to return the money could be punished under the proposed changes.
Other measures to tackle benefit fraud in the legislation include letting investigators directly take the money back from people’s bank accounts.
Powers to carry out early morning raids on suspected welfare fraudsters would also be handed to crack teams from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), instead of being reserved for the police.
The moves are part of a renewed focus on the ballooning welfare bill. Labour ministers are looking at billions of pounds’ worth of benefit cuts amid pressure to tighten spending plans.
Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said: “We are turning off the tap to criminals who cheat the system and steal law-abiding taxpayers’ money.
“This means greater consequences for fraudsters who cheat and evade the system, including as a last resort in the most serious cases removing their driving licence.”
She said the measures would be backed up by “new and important safeguards including reporting mechanisms and independent oversight” and added: “People need to have confidence the Government is opening all available doors to tackle fraud and eliminate waste, as we continue the most ambitious programme for government in a generation – with a laser-like focus on outcomes which will make the biggest difference to their lives as part of our Plan for Change.”
The changes are included in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error & Recovery) Bill, which has been dubbed by the Government the “biggest fraud crackdown in a generation”.
It is being introduced to Parliament on Wednesday and will also give enhanced powers to target Covid-19 fraud, with the time limit to take action against companies through a civil claim doubled from six years to 12 years.
A DWP spokesman said benefit fraudsters cost the taxpayer £7 billion last year alone and estimated that the Bill could save £1.5 billion over the next five years.