Snooping on benefit claimants’ bank accounts won’t cut fraud

Another day, another wheeze from a desperate government as it tries to move the polls. Benefit claimants could soon have their bank accounts checked each month to ensure they are not lying about their savings. The law change, designed to crack down on benefits fraud, appears to be the government’s answer to the fact that welfare payments have exploded in recent years. It will reportedly be unveiled in the Autumn Statement, with estimates suggesting it could save the taxpayer £100 million a year. But will it make a difference?

The Department for Work and Pensions’ total proposed expenditure for 2023/24 is set to reach £279 billion (almost half of which is pensioner benefits). As a result, this £100 million figure – which itself sounds optimistic – is a mere drop in the ocean. It’s also not clear how the government arrived at this figure, but it would only take the DWP a few hours to burn through.