![\"DWP\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779010705_51_dwp.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed five major benefits will be scrutinised for fraud and error during the 2026\/27 financial year as part of a wider Government crackdown on incorrect welfare payments.<\/p>\n
Universal Credit, Housing Benefit for pension-age claimants, Pension Credit, the state pension and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) have all been included in the department\u2019s latest review programme.<\/p>\n
The results of the assessment are expected to be published in May 2027 following analysis of payment accuracy and potential fraudulent claims across the welfare system.<\/p>\n
The announcement follows publication of the DWP\u2019s Fraud and Error in the Benefit System report for the year ending April 2026.<\/p>\n
According to the department\u2019s figures, Universal Credit continued to account for the largest proportion of benefit overpayments.<\/p>\n
The DWP estimated that \u00a39.5billion in Universal Credit payments had been overpaid during the period, representing 10.5 per cent of total spending on the benefit.<\/p>\n
By comparison, state pension recorded the lowest overpayment rate across the system at 0.2 per cent, equivalent to \u00a3230million.<\/p>\n
Labour has also granted the DWP expanded powers to examine bank account information as part of efforts to tackle benefit fraud and payment errors.<\/p>\n
DWP will scrutinise five major benefits for fraud and error as new bank account powers come into force<\/p>\n
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Under the new system, the department can issue an Eligibility Verification Notice to banks and financial institutions requiring them to provide specific customer information.<\/p>\n
Financial institutions receive an Eligibility Verification Notice are legally required to comply with the request.<\/p>\n
The measures have prompted criticism from campaign organisations concerned about privacy and state surveillance.<\/p>\n
Big Brother Watch has described the new regime as “Orwellian” and “dystopian” amid concerns over the scope of the powers granted to the department.<\/p>\n
![\"Universal](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/universal-credit.jpg\")
The DWP has since published guidance detailing the exact information financial institutions may be compelled to provide when served with a notice.<\/p>\n
The department said the measures are intended to help identify potential signs of fraud within the benefits system as concerns continue over rising welfare costs.<\/p>\n
Under the guidance, banks may be required to hand over five categories of information linked to specific accounts.<\/p>\n
These include the account sort code, account number, the name of the account holder and their date of birth.<\/p>\n
Financial institutions may also be required to provide information demonstrating whether an account meets particular eligibility indicators set out by the DWP.<\/p>\n
This could include evidence showing savings exceeding a specified threshold or records indicating that an account has been accessed abroad for consecutive periods.<\/p>\n
The powers are particularly relevant for Universal Credit claimants because the benefit carries an upper savings threshold of \u00a316,000.<\/p>\n
Banks could therefore be instructed to identify accounts holding balances above that level where eligibility concerns arise.<\/p>\n
The DWP said the published guidance was intended to provide greater clarity about the scope of the new powers following criticism from campaign groups and charities.<\/p>\n
Disability charity Sense has warned that fraudulent claims remain uncommon among those receiving disability-related benefits.<\/p>\n
Evan John, policy adviser at the organisation, told The Daily Record: “Fraud is very uncommon among people claiming disability benefits, with the vast majority of funds being used as intended: offsetting the additional costs that come with being disabled, and enabling disabled people to afford the essentials.<\/p>\n
“Benefits are an absolute lifeline for disabled people with complex needs.”<\/p>\n
The charity has urged ministers to recognise the role disability payments play in supporting vulnerable households and to avoid introducing further reductions to support during the current parliament.<\/p>\n
PIP currently provides between \u00a3121.20 and \u00a3778.40 every four weeks to more than 3.9 million claimants across England and Wales.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed five major benefits will be scrutinised for fraud and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588737,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[84,2215,4176,2222,50,6215,4174,4175,6039,2331,56,54,55,7160],"class_list":["post-588736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-dwp","tag-finance","tag-money","tag-news","tag-pension-credit","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-pip","tag-sgg","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-universal-credit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}