The Sun, on UK Politics, 9 November 2026

6.0out of 10Serious

Plan to SCRAPPED by Chancellor in blow to taxpayer

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19 comments 19 Next CHANCELLOR John Healey by snooping on claimants’ bank accounts. The proposal would have enabled officials at the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) to pry on the savings of people claiming benefits . Chancellor John Healey has U-turned on plans to snoop on benefit claimants’ accounts Source: PA Welfare fraud costs the Treasury around £10bn a year Source: PA Advertisement Under the current criteria, anyone with more than £16,000 in savings is ineligible for Universal Credit.

It follows former chancellor Rachel Reeves ‘ assertions last spring that claimaints would have their bank accounts scrutinised to ensure they weren’t playing the system. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! Email address Please provide a valid email. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy You'll now receive top stories, breaking news, and more, straight to your email. Benefit fraud currently costs the Treasury nearly £10bn a year.

Mrs Reeves insisted the policy would help tackle these enormous losses. Read more News URGENT HUNT Cops release CCTV of missing bride-to-be, 29, who vanished 12 days ago TRAVEL CHAOS Warning to commuters as dense fog covers the UK causing rush-hour disruption But now, DWP ministers have asked banks to scan accounts after they have received Universal Credit, then submit findings to the Government. These delayed checks could lead to a surge in benefit scams from first-time claimaints, experts have warned.

Mr Healey’s plans to U-turn on the original snooping policy . Reports by The Telegraph expect the welfare bill to balloon by 2032, from £352bn to £431bn. Advertisement Most read in The Sun CRASH CHAOS Moment driver ploughs into beauty salon as women flee for their lives MIGRANT SURGE Fears of ‘new Ceuta’ as island declares emergency after 5,000 migrants arrive CHOPPER SMASH Terrifying moment helicopter nosedives into river in horror crash killing one IN COLD BLOOD Dad ‘stabs wife to death in front of children months after restraining order’ While state pension will account for around half of this figure, the increase will also be partly driven by youth unemployment reforms, analysts claim.

Youth work schemes, recommended by former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn, will resemble Germany and Denmark’s mobility models, which cost around 0.3 per cent of the GDP annually. An equivalent increase in the UK would come to around £6bn, according to the Telegraph . Prime Minister Andy Burnham is expected to respond to these policy reforms early next year – as well as a separate probe into health-related benefits. Tories criticised Mr Healey’s abandonment of the welfare claims probe, accusing Labour of a “complete surrender” on the pressing topic.

Advertisement Helen Whatley , the shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “There will be no savings in this Parliament and they don’t even want to make savings over the next decade. “Millions of people are trapped on benefits and hardworking taxpayers are being forced to foot an ever-growing bill. “We desperately need a Government with the backbone to tackle our broken welfare system .” Despite the Chancellor backtracking on bank account inspections, energy companies have been given the green light to examine their customers’ incomes, tax records and property valuations.

A spokesperson for DWP said: “This Government is determined to crack down on fraud and error and protect taxpayers’ money. Advertisement “The previous Open Banking proposal relied on claimant consent and could not be used in every Universal Credit claim. “We are instead introducing the Eligibility Verification Measure (EVM), which will require banks and financial institutions to provide information where accounts meet specified criteria, giving DWP a more consistent way to identify incorrect payments and tackle fraud and error.

RECOMMENDED STORIES “This is just one part of a comprehensive programme to tackle fraud, error and debt and EVM is expected to save £1.2bn by 2030-31.” 19 comments 19

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What we found (3)

The Sun's headline tells readers that a crackdown on 'benefit cheats' was scrapped at a cost to taxpayers. Its own body says the plan covered all claimants' savings and has been replaced by a bank checking scheme the DWP expects to save £1.2bn. The opening line repeats the 'scrapped crackdown' claim, and an unsourced cost figure is never set against the DWP's savings estimate.

  1. Headline goes beyond the article

    Serious

    “spy on benefit cheats’ bank accounts”

    Why this matters
    The headline calls the people whose accounts would have been checked 'benefit cheats'.
    The impression it gives
    The plan targeted people already caught cheating, so dropping it lets fraudsters off.
    The context
    The body says the proposal concerned the savings of everyone claiming benefits, so that all claimants would have their accounts scrutinised. The headline turns every claimant into a cheat.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“pry on the savings of people claiming benefits”
    • Elsewhere in the article“claimaints would have their bank accounts scrutinised”

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    Ministers drop plan to check benefit claimants' bank accounts and replace it with bank checks they say will save £1.2bn.

  2. Opening line contradicted by its own body

    Minor

    “has scrapped plans to crack down on benefit fraud”

    Why this matters
    The opening sentence says Healey scrapped plans to crack down on benefit fraud.
    The impression it gives
    The government has abandoned its fraud crackdown on bank accounts.
    The context
    Later sentences say banks will scan accounts after Universal Credit is paid and report their findings, under a new measure aimed at fraud and error. Only one method was dropped.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“then submit findings to the Government”
    • Elsewhere in the article“giving DWP a more consistent way to identify incorrect payments and tackle fraud and error”

    Show it in the article

  3. Uses figures that mislead

    Minor

    “will cost taxpayers £5m this year and another £10m next year”

    Why this matters
    The Sun states in its own voice, with no source, that the U-turn will cost taxpayers £5m and then £10m.
    The impression it gives
    The change is a net loss to taxpayers.
    The context
    The article gives no source for these figures. It never sets them against the DWP's estimate, printed at the end, that the replacement measure will save £1.2bn by 2030-31.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“EVM is expected to save £1.2bn by 2030-31”

    Show it in the article

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