Staff who work at the DWP will be given the power to arrest people in a Universal Credit fraud crackdown.
It comes as Job Centres hope to come down hard on those who are cheating the benefits system. Two million claimants are set to have their cases dredged up and face fines for fraud under sweeping laws - even if they’re not convicted of a crime.
Department for Work and Pensions officers will be allowed to mass-request bank data more easily. They will also be given powers allowing them to make arrests, execute warrants, conduct searches and seize evidence themselves instead of leaving the work to police, reported The Mirror.
