Banks including Bank of Scotland, Barclays Bank, Monzo Bank Limited, Metro Bank, Lloyds Bank, HSBC, Halifax, National Westminster Bank (Natwest), Nationwide Building Society and Santander will be checked
Abbie Meehan Sports Writer U-35s
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed it will be checking for two main things when inspecting bank accounts in 2024. This is part of a new rule to crack down on fraudulent benefit claims, according to Birmingham Live.
The DWP's priority is to check bank balances that exceed the capital limits. Officials have confirmed that people won't be able to claim Universal Credit if they have over £16,000 in money, savings and investments.
The DWP will also monitor if claimants are staying overseas for longer than current rules allow. This comes ahead of new rules and restrictions being launched.
Banks including Bank of Scotland, Barclays Bank, Monzo Bank Limited, Metro Bank, Lloyds Bank, HSBC, Halifax, National Westminster Bank (NATWEST), Nationwide Building Society and Santander will be checked.
Starling Bank, Co-Operative Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Yorkshire Bank and TSB Bank will also be checked. Currently, the DWP can investigate any bank account where fraud is suspected, and HMRC shares banking data with the DWP each year.
The new rules will require banks and building societies to monitor everyone who claims benefits. Officials at the Department for Work and Pensions assured: "DWP staff will follow the usual business processes when looking into any cases, taking account of circumstances and wider vulnerabilities before deciding on a course of action."
However, civil liberties group Big Brother Watch warned against this invasion of privacy. They declared: "The government should not intrude on the privacy of anyone's bank account in this country without very good reason, whether a person is receiving benefits or not. People who are disabled, sick, carers, looking for work, or indeed linked to any of those people should not be treated like criminals by default."
They also defended the principle of presumed innocence, stating: "Such proposals do away with the long-standing democratic principle in Britain that state surveillance should follow suspicion rather than vice versa." And they added: "It would be dangerous for everyone if the government reverses this presumption of innocence. This level of financial intrusion and monitoring affecting millions of people is highly likely to result in serious mistakes and sets an incredibly dangerous precedent."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.
