With repeated references to ‘common sense’ and ‘benefit fraud cheats’, the U.K. government has announced changes to the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (DPDI).
Currently, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) can only undertake fraud checks on people claiming government financial assistance on an individual basis, where there is already a suspicion of fraud.
However, the new changes give it the power to access data from third parties, particularly banks and financial organizations, on a regular monthly basis.
They would be required to make checks on the bank accounts held by benefit claimants to spot increases in their savings which push them over the benefit eligibility threshold, or to discover when people send more time overseas than the benefit rules allow for.
“These new powers send a very clear message to benefit fraudsters—we won’t stand for it. These people are taking the taxpayer for a ride, and it is right that we do all we can to bring them to justice,” said secretary of state for work and pensions Mel Stride.
“These powers will be used proportionately, ensuring claimants’ data is safely protected while rooting out fraudsters at the earliest possible opportunity.”
The government estimates that by using these extra powers, it will save around £300 million per year in benefit payments by 2028-29.
The changes also extend the use of biometric data, such as fingerprints, supplied by organizations such as Interpol. Counter Terrorism Police officers would be allowed to retain biometric data for as long as an Interpol notice is in force. And where an individual has a foreign conviction, their biometric information could be retained indefinitely, in the same way as is already the case for individuals with UK convictions.
“Law enforcement and our security partners must have access to the best possible tools and data, including biometrics, to continue to keep us safe,” said home secretary James Cleverly.
“This bill will improve the efficiency of data protection for our security and policing partners—encouraging better use of personal information and ensuring appropriate safeguards for privacy.”
There are, though, obvious concerns about government processing of banking information, which Privacy International describes as extremely alarming and intrusive. Banking information can reveal intimate details of people’s lives, it points out.
And the bill is already controversial, with campaign group the Open Rights Group calling it a “data grab by the government that will undermine data rights in the UK.”
Meanwhile, says Big Brother Watch, “This system could give the government a blank cheque to share the personal information of millions of people between government departments. At the same time, the government is also cultivating a ‘digital identity market’ of private companies that can perform identity checks online.”
And even the U.K.’s recently-departed biometrics commissioner recently described the bill’s moves to weaken AI and biometrics safeguards as ‘shocking’ and ‘tantamount to vandalism’.
The amendments have entered the bill at a very late stage, and will be considered by the House of Commons on 29 November.
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