Profit Fraudsters owing over £1,000 in fraudulently claimed welfare may face two-year driving bans underneath new authorities plans.
Whereas extreme circumstances of profit fraud can already result in imprisonment, Work and Pensions Minister Alison McGovern has emphasised that this new strategy could be a further instrument to implement repayments.
At present, the Division for Work and Pensions (DWP) seeks to get well overpaid advantages by means of banks or the PAYE system. Nonetheless, the driving licence ban is meant to focus on people who nonetheless refuse to cooperate.
Profit Fraudsters Prices and New Investigative Powers
Newest figures present that welfare fraud accounted for £7.4 billion in overpayments final 12 months, representing 2.8% of whole welfare expenditure. As well as, £1.6 billion (0.6%) was misplaced as a consequence of claimant errors, and £800 million (0.3%) was overpaid as a consequence of DWP errors.
The federal government additionally plans to introduce new powers permitting investigators to entry checking account information to extra successfully establish fraudulent claims. Ministers estimate this might save taxpayers £1.5 billion over 5 years. These measures echo comparable proposals launched by the earlier Conservative authorities.
To get a way of what driving professionals consider this determination, the DIA determined to survey its members. Listed here are the outcomes:
Query 1: “Do you agree with the Authorities’s determination to strip profit fraudsters of their driving licence for as much as 2 years?”
1 (Strongly Disagree) – 10 (Strongly Agree) = Common (4.3)
DIA Opinion: Simply over half of the respondents disagreed with the federal government’s determination to strip profit fraudsters of their driving licence. This exhibits that driving professionals imagine is just not the perfect resolution to stopping profit fraud and the plans could have to be redrawn.
Query 2: “Do you suppose this may work in deterring folks from committing profit fraud?”
Sure: 3 (15.0%)
No: 17 (85.0%)
DIA Opinion: The disagreement expressed in Query 1 appears to have been repeated in Query 2. If the Authorities goes forward with these proposals, we predict it gained’t be extremely popular within the Driver Coach world.
Query 3: “When you have any ideas on the Authorities’s latest determination, please enter them under:”
“Driving and profit fraud has no relation to one another it can encourage extra unlawful use of motor automobiles and will forestall them getting work. For my part there are higher deterants than this.” – Unknown contact stated
“Yet one more silly thought by the idiots destroying this Nation. Many dwell in villages with no public transport how will they even get a job if they will’t get anyplace.”- Unknown contact stated
“Additional madness from this ineffective and treasonous authorities.
“Taking away licences is taking away skill to journey to work, due to this fact is counterproductive in getting folks off advantages and again to work!!
Utter stupidity from a authorities unfit to be in energy.” – Unknown contact stated
“Much less speak extra motion, they should look extra intently on the motobility scammers as effectively” – Unknown contact stated
“Will encourage folks to drive with out license and insurance coverage.” – Unknown contact stated
“As there isn’t any approach of implementing this what’s the level . Till Policing of roads is best and the results are extreme they may simply drive illegally” – Unknown contact stated:
“Pointless. Would cease folks from working in any respect” – Unknown contact stated
“Of they focused the billionaire fraudsters they’d retrieve much more cash” – Unknown contact stated
If you want your say on this topic, please add your feedback within the part under. Not a DIA members, you possibly can enroll right here
