The motion warned that the proposal to grant the new legal powers for the benefit department to monitor the bank accounts of millions of people, including the most vulnerable in society, “risks creating a Post Office Horizon-style scandal”
A group of over 30 MPs have tabled a motion against the Department for Work and Pension’s (DWP) increased powers to monitor bank accounts.
The motion, first tabled earlier this month, warned that the proposal to grant the new legal powers for the benefit department to monitor the bank accounts of millions of people, including the most vulnerable in society, “risks creating a Post Office Horizon-style scandal”.
The motion said it was “deeply alarmed” by powers contained in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill. At the time of writing, 31 MPs including Labour’s John McDonnell, Richard Burgon, Nadia Whittome, and Apsana Begum have signed the motion. Just one Conservative MP, Afriyie Adam, has signed in support.
According to the plans, this measure is going to be called “Third Party Data Gathering” and is a “data sharing” power. The DWP says it requires third parties, such as banks, to provide relevant information to the DWP, that may signal a claimant does not meet the eligibility criteria for the benefit they are receiving – such as having too much savings. Under current Universal Credit rules, you do not qualify if you have over £16,000 in money, savings and investments.
Under the current rules, the DWP can only request details of a bank account holder’s transactions if there are reasonable grounds to suspect them of fraud. However, the DWP has stated the measure will only see them receive “limited and relevant” information that may signal whether benefits are being improperly paid. It will not allow them to access anyone’s bank account or see how claimants are spending their money.
The motion noted that those “connected” to the claimant could also be monitored including relatives, parents, landlords and other associates. The main concern comes as the benefits department is set to rely on artificial intelligence AI to monitor activity and flag “suspicious activity”. The MPs fear that this could create a “Horizon-style” scandal “where innocent people suffered wrongful prosecutions, financial ruin and reputational damage”.
Disability Rights UK has said that using algorithms to trawl a large number of accounts at once removes the right to privacy, while the chances of false positive matches for fraud or error are “incredibly high”. This concern has been backed up by the civil liberties non-profit Big Brother Watch which described the legislation’s potential for expansive surveillance, high rates of error, and disproportionate impact on people in vulnerable positions as “huge.”
A total number of 16 Labour MPs have signed the motion, as well as members from the Liberal Democrats, Green Party, Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, the Democratic Unionist Party, and Independents. The new legislation, which is currently moving through the House of Lords, aims to “update and simplify” the UK’s data protection framework.
An “Early Day Motion” is a motion submitted for debate in the House of Commons for which no day has been fixed. However, they do often highlight what the public opinion on an issue is. The plans were first launched in the 2022 policy paper on “Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System” which you can read here. The DWP has been contacted for comment.
