However DWP has confirmed it will not have direct access to anyone’s bank accounts
Security experts fear new DWP powers to clamp down on fraud could wrongly target claimants. A sweeping range of powers have just become law, in efforts to clamp down on wrongful and fraudulent payments in the benefits system.
The new measures include powers to directly take funds from a person’s bank account if they owe the DWP cash and are refusing to settle the debt. In separate powers under the new laws, officials will carry out eligibility checks to request bank details for people claiming certain benefits. These will initially be used to check the details of those claiming Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, and Pension Credit, to make sure claimants qualify for their payments.
Officials plan to start using these powers in 2026, with the potential for the measures to be expanded to other benefits.
Security experts at compliance group SmartSearch have voiced concerns about the powers, as claimants could be wrongly targeted. Chief customer officer Collette Smith said: “There are always risks in any system that relies on data checks, whether manual or automated. False positives can arise if data is incomplete, outdated, inputted incorrectly or misinterpreted.”
She warned that proper safeguards need to be in place as “otherwise people could end up having legitimate benefits suspended or be wrongly suspected of fraud”.
Claimants could mistakenly trigger an alert
She explained how a claimant making a small change could be wrongly flagged as suspicious. Ms Smith said: “For example, a temporary change in income, shared household accounts, or the way transactions are categorised could trigger an alert without any wrongdoing. This is why proportionality and context matter.”
As part of the legislation, an independent person will be appointed to oversee the use of the powers. They will make sure that the measures are effective in their purpose and that they are only used when appropriate.
The DWP has also confirmed it will not have direct access to anyone’s bank account as part of the eligibility checks. In using these measures, officials will contact banking providers to get specific information about the bank accounts they provide that are linked to benefits. Officials will not be able to see what claimants are spending their money on.
More powers to investigate DWP fraud
Asked if the DWP should get even more powers to clamp down on fraud in the benefit system, Ms Smith warned: “There’s a danger in assuming that more powers automatically lead to better outcomes. The focus should be on smarter, not broader, authority.”
She said that data-matching and digital verification checks can be more effective than expanded powers to investigate suspected fraud. The expert said: “For example, the ability to securely match claimant details with HMRC payroll data, immigration and residency records, and banks through regulated digital identity services could prevent fraud before payments are made. Stronger digital ID frameworks, backed by independent oversight, would reduce reliance on manual checks that are prone to error.”
The team at SmartSearch use ‘triple-bureau verification’, where they get authoritative data from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax, to avoid false matches. Ms Smith said: “Powers that allow the DWP to use verified sources will be more transformative than blanket access to personal data.”
Under the new laws, fraud investigators have also been given expanded powers to order people to hand over information, where officials are looking into a suspected case of benefit fraud. Previously, the department could only mandate people from a restricted list to hand over details, but now they can order any third party related to the suspect to give them the information they need.
