Illegal benefits claimants face crackdown by 2,000 officers

A CORPS of 2,000 benefits cops will be handed powers to carry out arrests, search properties and seize evidence in a crackdown on welfare fraud.

Ministers have today unveiled plans for a blitz on illegal claimants as part of a drive to save the taxpayer almost £1billion a year in bogus payments.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will get monitoring powers to catch people hiding savings or living abroad. It will also be able to dish out fines rather than pursue lengthy, costly court cases against those subjected to “criminal standard” investigations.

The £600million Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System scheme will hand the DWP enforcement powers like

‘Taxpayers must have confidence that money spent on welfare reaches those who really need it’

those wielded by bodies like HMRC. Universal Credit fraud exploded during the Covid pandemic, with MPS saying £8.3billion was overpaid in 2021 compared to £4.5billion the previous year.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said: “The welfare system is there to help the most vulnerable. It is not a cash machine for callous criminals and it’s vital that the Government ensures money is well spent.

“Fraud is an ever-present threat and before the pandemic, our efforts brought fraud and error close to record lows. This outlines what we need to fight fraud in 2022 and into the future.

“Thousands of trained specialists, combined with targeted new tools and powers, will mean we can keep up with fraud in today’s digital age.”

The crackdown is expected to stop £4billion of fraud across a five-year period. Jacob Rees-mogg, minister for efficiency, said: “Taxpayers must have confidence that money spent on welfare reaches those who really need it.”