New law targets welfare fraud, granting government power to check accounts, raising concerns about privacy and potential errors for millions.
The government could take money directly from accounts if deductions fail after benefits stop. They could also suspend driving licenses if people refuse to repay the money. One MP calls this “mass surveillance” and says the law is unjust. She spoke in the House of Commons and stated the law forces banks to scan private data.
The banks search for fraud indicators that are not public. The Department for Work and Pensions can seize money without due process, she argues. She says the government can suspend licenses and even search properties and devices. She believes these are tools of a surveillance state, agreeing fraudsters should be held accountable, but thinks this bill goes too far.
She says the bill targets millions of innocent people, including disabled people and pensioners, treating them as suspects simply because they get state support. The MP emphasizes current fraud investigation powers. She thinks people could be wrongly targeted, citing the Post Office Horizon scandal, where faulty software led to wrongful prosecutions, fearing this will repeat injustices. The DWP has made mistakes before, she adds.
She mentioned a disabled woman whose benefits stopped by mistake, with the DWP wrongly claiming she owed £28,000. Another woman was accused of owing £12,000 when the government actually owed her money. She says AI errors will affect vulnerable people. Even a small error rate could cause problems, leading to many recipients being wrongly flagged and facing unfair investigations and lengthy appeals.
She said the new law has limited impact, recovering just £146 million per year, less than 2% of estimated fraud losses. Yet people fail to claim billions in benefits yearly, and the bill does nothing to help. The MP says the bill was rushed and scheduled for debate quickly, bypassing necessary checks, affecting millions’ rights. Privacy experts worry about human rights breaches.
She thinks this creates unequal justice, where wealthy people avoid this intrusion, while benefit recipients face scrutiny. She says this distracts from legitimate support systems, and civil society groups criticize the powers. These groups include Amnesty International, which warns that such oversight will entrench discrimination. She urges the government to remove specific sections.
A government official responded to these claims, stating they won’t get transaction information or look directly into accounts. Also, he adds that banks won’t decide on fraud. The bill still needs more approval steps and has passed a stage in the House of Commons.
