The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been given extra powers with the passing of the Fraud Error and Recovery Act 2025, which MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have described as ‘draconian’.

This means DWP staff will be able to crack down on benefit debtors and fraudsters by taking direct deductions from bank accounts, access to data provided by banks about their transactions, and the power to disqualify debtors from holding a driving licence, and the hiring of 3,000 additional DWP staff.