Tory DWP surveillance powers get Labour green light with bank account monitoring planned

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

With the Labour Party Conference in full swing and the new party of government tentatively laying out its plans for Britain after 14 years of Conservative rule, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has revealed new legislation that would grant the department sweeping new powers to crack down on fraud - and they look familiar.

Despite recent changes at the DWP to overhaul disability benefit assessments and look at claimants as "individuals", the new bill proposed by the Government looks set to feature some Conservative plans to crack down on claimants who are being paid too much, either by accident or through fraud.

Including an unpopular policy that would enhance the DWP's bank monitoring powers. These powers were contained in the Tory's Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, which was scrapped when then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the July election that resulted in a historic Labour landslide.

But now, alongside powers to search homes and seize assets, the DWP is full steam ahead with its attempt to claw back some of the estimated £10 billion that is overpaid or fraudulently claimed each year. READ MORE: DWP reveals Winter Fuel Payments to pensioners reached record high last year The DWP says the Fraud, Error and Debt Bill will allow them to better investigate fraudsters, with bank account surveillance allowing the government to keep up with the "more sophisticated" nature of modern benefit fraud.