Results for: DWP Powers

In a bid to clamp down on benefit fraud, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will receive expanded investigatory powers, as announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. These new powers will mirror those granted to tax inspectors at HMRC, enabling the DWP to conduct searches, make arrests, and impose civil penalties on suspected offenders. The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill will also grant the DWP access to banking information without requiring suspicion of fraudulent activity, broadening its ability to gather evidence. This move aims to strengthen the detection and prosecution of benefit fraud, ensuring that the welfare system is not exploited at the expense of taxpayers.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a crackdown on benefit claimants, with major changes to Personal Independence Payments (PIP), new powers for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to impose fines, and an attack on what he called “sick note culture.” These changes could see millions of benefit claimants’ payments reduced or stopped entirely, as the government tries to lower the UK’s growing benefits bill. Disability charity Scope has described the welfare reforms as “dangerous” and a “full-on assault on disabled people.”