HMRC sends DWP PAYE details before tackling benefit fraud

The Department for Work and Pensions receives details from HMRC in cracking down on fraud as they crack down on fraudulent activity. The new The DWP’s Tackling Welfare Fraud guide shows how it will use PAYE details from HMRC to know when to act on overpayments and fraudulent activity.

The DWP fleshed out the plan and explained: “ Using a direct real-time feed of information from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to accurately assess claimants’ earnings paid through the PAYE system has enabled us to tackle the biggest source of monetary value fraud in the DWP – returns false about means-tested earnings.”

The DWP has also hinted its new powers – which include bank account checks as well as “seizures” of possessions and even house raids – bring it into line with HMRC. It added: “Unlike the DWP, which has to rely heavily on the availability and prioritization of the police, HMRC and the Gangmasters and Labor Abuse Authority (GLAA) have powers which enable them to exercise the power to arrest and search and confiscations in respect of income or labor offences. market abuses. The powers below will bring the DWP into line with these two bodies.”

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“Other government departments, such as HMRC and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), have additional options available that allow them to take action where there is strong evidence without having to reach the burden of proof required for a criminal prosecution,” it says.

Elsewhere in the plan, it said: “Earnings is the biggest losing area to fraud and error, totaling £1.9bn in 2020/21 in Universal Credit. This is partly a result of the significant increase in the proportion of self-employed applicants. from 5.4% of the number of Universal Credit cases in February 2020 to 15.4% in July 2020.

“Greater use of data will help us corroborate revenue and allow us to get payment right. We already do this for individuals who pay tax through the PAYE system, for whom we receive a real-time feed of information from HMRC to assess their earnings, rather than relying on self-reporting.”

The DWP also argued that its new “civil penalties” are also aligned with HMRC’s powers.