London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

‘Cracking down on poor people’? UK govt reportedly wants to deter Universal Credit fraud by snooping on claimants’ bank accounts

‘Cracking down on poor people’? UK govt reportedly wants to deter Universal Credit fraud by snooping on claimants’ bank accounts

The UK government reportedly plans to monitor bank account data in order to ensure that people receiving unemployment benefits aren’t cheating the system, sparking furor as the country suffers from record unemployment.

he Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) intends to step up efforts to weed out people receiving government assistance who are deemed to be too wealthy for the program.

UK citizens are barred from tapping into Universal Credit if they or their partners have more than £16,000 in the bank ($20,947). Under the program, those with savings of £6,000 ($7,855) to £16,000 receive a smaller paycheck from the government each month.

DWP Permanent Secretary Peter Schofield announced that his department was pushing to pass new laws that would allow them to obtain “bulk” bank account data, in order to ensure claimants aren’t over the £16,000 limit.

John Paul Marks, the DWP’s director general for work and health services, told MPs during a meeting with the Commons Work and Pensions Committee that having more data from banks would be “fabulous.”

“You could imagine a real-time information type system that every time you declare you don’t have capital, we could see whether or not you actually did,” Marks said.

However, not everyone thought it was such a swell idea.

“Rather than cracking down on poor people, treating them like criminals… Why don’t we crack down on massive corporations and rich crooks with offshore bank accounts?” asked one frustrated observer.

Others joked that the scheme was par for the course for the Tories, even as they claim to be doing everything they can to assist low-income families to survive the economic downturn.


Still, some argued that there was nothing wrong with the idea, pointing out that money not spent on those who don’t qualify for unemployment benefits could be rerouted to those who are most in need.

“Why is it so hard to see the logic, unless you have something to hide?” inquired a supporter of the proposed measures.

The number of people claiming universal credit has nearly doubled to six million since the government decided to shutter “non-essential” businesses in an attempt to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Schofield said that out of three million new claims, 188,000 were flagged for review, three-quarters of which were deemed to have “something wrong with them.”

Although the government is concerned about potential fraud, a new report seems to suggest that there are many worthy applicants who are denied financial assistance.

A new study found that nearly half of the people rejected for unemployment benefits between March and July suffered serious financial hardship, while more than half reported problems with mental health. One in six people who were denied Universal Credit said they struggled to put food on the table. The study estimated that at least 290,000 people were turned down for benefits during the period.

The UK has posted record job losses and saw a huge contraction in GDP as the nation struggles to bounce back from the government-imposed economic shutdown. Finance Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Thursday an expansion of the furlough replacement scheme to help companies that are struggling to stay afloat to pay workers’ wages.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×