DWP list of 15 banks where people’s accounts will be monitored

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has shared a list of 15 banks and building societies in which benefit claimants' accounts can be monitored under new powers.

DWP is expected to perform the checks from 2025 before building up to a full-scale crackdown in 2030 – when all 15 of the UK's top financial institutions are on board, Birmingham Live reports. Banking staff will primarily be asked to check for accounts where people have too much in savings to be entitled to benefits.

For Universal Credit, this capital limit is £16,000. As an exception, those being transferred to Universal Credit from Tax Credits are allowed to have more than that for the first 12 months, after which the normal rules apply and, if the amount hasn't gone down, their claim would be shut down.

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The DWP said: "We know that the vast majority of DWP claimants bank with, and have their benefits paid into, the largest 15 banks in the UK. These banks and building societies receive over 97% of all payments to DWP claimants."

It added that the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill proposals would allow any other banks to carry out the new measures if necessary.

The 15 banks involved in new DWP fraud checks

The banks are listed alphabetically along with the number of staff.

1. Bank of Scotland (40,000)
2. Barclays Bank (43,000)
3. Halifax (4,000)
4. HSBC (40,000)
5. Lloyds Bank (62,587)
6. Metro Bank (4,000)
7. Monzo Bank Limited (2,432)
8. National Westminster Bank (NATWEST) (63,500)
9. Nationwide Building Society (17,680)
10. Santander (22,200)
11. Starling Bank (2,700)
12. The Co-Operative Bank (2,677)
13. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) (12,000)
14. TSB Bank (6,000+)
15. Yorkshire Bank (7,415)

The DWP says its analysis shows that a substantial amount of capital fraud and error is due to undeclared or under-declared savings in high street banks and building societies. But there may, in some cases, be justifiable reasons for claimants to have more than £16,000 and it has asked banks not to close down any accounts where people have amounts above the limit.

It said: "In discussion with UK Finance, banks, building societies and other financial intuitions, we have been clear that any data received under this measure should not be seen as indicative of any financial crime. Many claimants will have a legitimate, authorised reason to hold savings in excess of capital benefit rules (disregards for injury compensation, for example) and in many cases, overpayments could have been caused by genuine claimant error. Given this, we have been clear that there should be no action to de-bank claimants."

The DWP added: "We are confident that the power is proportionate and would operate in a way that it only brings in data on DWP claimants, and specifically those claimants where there is a reasonable suspicion that something is wrong within their claim. The power will not bring in non-claimant data and will not bring in claimant data where there is no signal of a breach in the entitlement rules (for example, those with low or no savings).

"By ensuring this measure is proportionate and only focuses on data of claimants where the data indicates a suspicion of fraud or error we are complying with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including compliance with the data-minimisation principle."

It added that, in terms of the right to privacy, the DWP believes the new measures are "both necessary and proportionate."

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