Plans to give the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) new authority to probe people’s bank accounts are moving closer to reality, with Parliament expected to pass the measures later this year. Civil liberties groups say the proposals open the door to financial surveillance on a scale never before seen in the UK.
Under Labour’s Fraud, Error and Debt Bill, the DWP would be able to compel banks and building societies to share information about social security claimants.
More: UK Government Fast-Tracking Bill to Monitor Bank Accounts, Revoke Licenses, and Search Homes
Baroness Maeve Sherlock told the House of Lords that the so‑called “Eligibility Verification Measure” will require institutions to provide specific account details once a formal request is issued. This includes the account holder’s name, date of birth, sort code, account number, and certain indicators of whether the account fits the rules for receiving social security.
Officials say the information will be used to check if someone qualifies for the payments they receive, pointing to the £16,000 ($21,000) savings threshold that normally rules out eligibility for Universal Credit. The department intends to introduce the process in stages over a year, starting with a smaller group of financial providers.
The legislation also hands the DWP a second power: the ability to issue “Direct Deduction Orders” to remove money directly from wages or bank accounts. Similar powers already exist for HMRC and the Child Maintenance Service, and the DWP expects to use them thousands of times a year.
Labour calls this the “biggest fraud crackdown in a generation” and claims it could save £1.5 billion within five years. But privacy advocates, including Big Brother Watch, say the policy is “intrusive” and “threatens to usher in an unprecedented system of mass financial surveillance.”
