Overview
- The Department for Work and Pensions has issued its first eligibility verification notice and begun a controlled test-and-learn rollout that asks banks to flag accounts that meet DWP 'eligibility indicators'.
- Under the scheme the DWP sends short eligibility indicators to banks, which must check accounts receiving specified benefits and report limited identifiers and balances when a match occurs rather than full bank statements or transaction histories.
- The measure initially covers Universal Credit, Pension Credit and New Style Employment and Support Allowance while State Pension is explicitly excluded, and checks can include linked or joint accounts that are not in a claimant’s name.
- Final entitlement decisions will be made by trained DWP staff rather than automated systems, and the law includes a statutory code of practice, an independent reviewer, and penalties for banks that overshare.
- The DWP projects up to 50,000–100,000 overpayments identified per year when scaled and about £1.2bn saved over five years, while civil liberties groups warn the power risks suspicionless surveillance and could lead to more enquiries that delay or suspend payments if claimants do not respond.