DWP Powers to Check Bank Accounts and Suspend Debtors' Driving Licences Approved
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been granted the power to obtain bank statements from individuals who are believed to have sufficient funds to pay back welfare debts but are refusing to do so.
Laws aimed at curbing benefit fraud have taken a step forward, allowing the DWP to recover money directly from fraudsters' bank accounts.
- The DWP can obtain bank statements from those who owe welfare debts and have enough cash to pay them back but are refusing to do so.
- Courts may suspend driving licences of fraudsters who owe over £1,000 in welfare debts and have ignored repeated requests to pay them back.
The Government has suffered a narrow defeat in the House of Lords as peers voted for tougher action on fraud involving public money.
Author's summary: DWP gains power to check bank accounts and suspend driving licences.