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MPs have urged a “rethink” on controversial changes that they warned would give the government new powers to inspect the bank accounts of millions of pensioners.
The work and pensions select committee has written to the minister in charge of benefits and the state pension to raise concerns over “last minute” government amendments to the data protection and digital information bill.
Giving evidence to the committee this month, Mel Stride, secretary of state for work and pensions, confirmed the government had sought broad powers to inspect the bank accounts of people receiving the state pension and other benefits.
In a letter published this week, Stephen Timms, Labour chair of the committee, told Stride his committee was “particularly concerned” about the amendments, which he earlier had described as “last minute”.
“We . . . recognise the government has chosen a wide-ranging power in this area to ‘futureproof’ its ability to detect fraud and error in the system,” he said in the letter.
“Nonetheless, we are particularly concerned about the government being given such a power, even if it currently has no intention of using it, in respect of the state pension and personal independence payment (Pip).”
Stride told the committee in early December that the government would only request bulk anonymised data. He said measures around the state pension and Pips were to provide powers should a future pensions secretary need them; and the bill would require further approval by parliament to be implemented.
He said there was a “small amount of fraud” within the pension space, but he was not inclined to use these powers for this purpose.
Timms said the committee was “not convinced” that the government’s rationale for wanting to look at the bank accounts of state pensioners — for example to look for evidence about whether they lived in the UK — “would justify taking such a huge power”.
“You were unable to give any reason at all for looking into the bank accounts of people claiming personal independence payment,” Timms wrote.
He added: “We encourage you to rethink these provisions as the bill progresses through the Lords.”
The committee wrote to John Edwards, the Information Commissioner, last week seeking his views on the amendments and asking whether the body, which has a remit to protect consumers, had been consulted.
Susannah Copson, legal and policy officer at campaign group Big Brother Watch, said that the “mass monitoring of bank accounts” would affect millions of people and lead to mistakes being made.
She said that the “government should never intrude on the privacy of anyone’s bank account without very good reason, whether they receive benefits or not.”
Copson added: “This is an Orwellian new power that sets incredibly dangerous new precedents, sanctioning financial surveillance on an industrial scale.”
The Information Commissioner’s Office said it was engaging with the DWP to “better understand” its plans and “safeguards around them”. It said it would respond to the select committee in due course.
The Department for Work and Pensions said it was “only fair that we crack down on fraud with new powers to root out those who try to steal from the most vulnerable” while saving the taxpayer £600mn over the next five years.
The powers would be targeted at areas where fraud and error were highest, such as universal credit, it added.
A government insider said the changes would not provide the DWP with direct access to the bank accounts of state pension or benefit claimants.
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