Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to share data with banks for the purpose of fraud (a) prevention and (b) protection.

We have interpreted your question as being about the department’s ambition to access greater data from third parties to help tackle fraud and error.

Under current legislation, Authorised Officers from the DWP are able to obtain information from specified persons and organisations (this includes: banks, credit unions, friendly societies, industrial and provident societies) about their customers to help detect benefit fraud. Authorised Officers may use the powers when it is necessary and proportionate and in accordance with relevant legislation, to prevent, detect and secure evidence of benefit fraud.

The Government will legislate, when parliamentary time allows, for additional powers to require access to data from third parties, in particular banks, to enable the department to more proactively identify potential fraud, such as where claimants might have savings above the capital limit.