Labour’s benefit fraud crackdown would allow officials to access bank accounts

Keir Starmer says stopping benefit fraud would allow the government to ‘maintain support for the welfare state’. Photograph: Hugo Philpott/UPI/Rex/Shutterstock

Labour has promised to crack down on benefit fraud by reintroducing “snooper’s charter” proposals mooted under the last government that would allow welfare officials to request information from claimants’ bank accounts.

A fraud, error and debt bill will require banks and other financial institutions to share data that may help identify benefit fraud as part of a package of measures designed to “catch fraudsters faster” and save £1.6bn over five years.