Benefit cheats to lose their driving licences in new fraud crackdown

Benefit cheats who can’t pay back what they owe could soon be banned from driving in a move that the Government claims is the “biggest fraud crackdown in a generation”.

Under a new plan put forward by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), officials will be able to apply to the courts for benefit fraudsters to be stripped of their driving licences if they owe the taxpayer more than £1,000, or if they have ignored previous demands for repayment.

This new Bill would also grant the Government powers to issue search warrants, enabling police to look for items such as computers and mobile phones in order to gather evidence against suspects. Banks could also be forced to hand over account information – a measure that will almost certainly be opposed by privacy campaigners as well as the banks themselves. 

All of this, Labour says, could save the DWP as much as £1.5 billion over the next five years.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz Kendall said that the Government is “turning off the tap to criminals who cheat the system and steal law-abiding taxpayers’ money”. 

She continued: “This means greater consequences for fraudsters who cheat and evade the system, including as a last resort in the most serious cases removing their driving licence.” 

Kendall reassured the public that the proposals are “backed up by new and important safeguards including reporting mechanisms and independent oversight to ensure the powers are used proportionately and safely”.

Employment Minister Alison McGovern also backed the new scheme, telling BBC Breakfast that committing benefit fraud is “not okay”.

“This is money we all might rely on, whether for our state pensions or to stop our kids growing up in poverty,” McGovern said. “At this time, when the NHS is crying out for money, we cannot allow any money to be lost from social security through fraud."

The draft measures follow the Government’s recent announcement that driving licences will soon be available in digital form through a new app set to arrive on smartphones later this year.

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