DWP bank checks, USA News (Essex, United Kingdom): People across Essex claiming three major benefits could have their bank accounts checked under new powers now being used by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The department has issued its first Eligibility Verification Notice, marking the start of new checks involving banks and other financial institutions.
The system applies to people receiving Universal Credit, Pension Credit and New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). It means banks can be required to check accounts receiving these benefits against certain conditions set by the DWP.
Expected Savings and Ministerial Comments
The government expects the Eligibility Verification Measure to save taxpayers £1.2billion over the next five years by identifying fraud and incorrect benefit payments. DWP minister Lilian Greenwood said the measure would help tackle people who deliberately abuse the benefits system while ensuring legitimate claimants receive the correct support. She stated that banks would simply be asked to identify where somebody may no longer meet the rules for the benefits they receive, allowing the department to investigate further.
How the System Operates
The measure is also designed to identify potential cases where benefits are being paid incorrectly, including where somebody’s savings may affect their entitlement or where rules governing time spent abroad may have been breached. However, the DWP has stressed the new system does not give officials access to people’s online banking or allow them to monitor accounts in real time.
Where an account meets one of the eligibility indicators, banks can provide limited information including the names of account holders, details of linked and joint accounts, account numbers and sort codes, the amount of money held in relevant accounts and dates of transactions which took place in another country. A person’s everyday spending habits are not being handed over through the new measure.
Next Steps and Legislation
The DWP also says being flagged by a bank does not mean someone has committed benefit fraud or that their payments will automatically be stopped. Instead, the information acts as a prompt for officials to make further checks. A decision on somebody’s benefits cannot be based solely on information obtained through the new system.
The checks are beginning through a controlled test-and-learn phase before the system is expanded further. The new powers were introduced through the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025. Claimants are being reminded to report changes in their circumstances promptly, as delays could result in them receiving too much benefit and later having to repay the money.
