DWP accused of creating 'digital stop and search' as confirms AI use to 'spy' on accounts of benefits claimants

The Department for Work and Pensions is set to use Artificial Intelligence to ‘spy’ on the bank accounts of benefits claimants, it has emerged. In a debate in the House of Lords on the use of AI at the Department for Work and Pensions, it was described as effectively ‘digital stop and search’ as concerns were raised over how fair it would be.

A campaign has been growing to stop the Department for Work and Pensions ‘spying’ on the bank accounts of millions of benefits claimants. The controversial plans are part of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill which is currently going through the Houses of Commons and Lords.

Under the scheme, investigators would be able to get access to benefit claimants’ bank accounts and be able to see how much money they’ve got and what they’re spending it on, and the government has now confirmed that AI will be part of the process.

In the House of Lords, a recent debate Baroness Sherlock for Labour asked. “The Government have started to take powers to look into the bank account of every pensioner in the country. But that has made me even keener to understand exactly how DWP is using AI.

“Can the Minister tell the House whether it is used to select people for health reassessments to decide who to investigate or who to sanction? If so, what safeguards are in place to ensure that it is used transparently and fairly? How do we avoid it becoming a sort of digital version of stop and search?”

For the government, Viscount Younger of Leckie replied: “I hope I can reassure the noble Baroness that we already have a proven track record in delivering technology in a responsible and well-governed way. We have extended our governance to include an AI steering board and an assurance and advisory group. DWP always ensures that appropriate safeguards are in place for the proportionate, ethical and legal use of data, with internal monitoring protocols adhered to.”

Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Lab) asked: “My Lords, I shall pick up on what my noble friend said about digital stop and search, because there is growing concern about the potential for hidden bias in the use of algorithms to detect social security fraud. What steps has the DWP taken to prevent such bias, with potentially discriminatory outcomes?”

Viscount Younger of Leckie replied: “The noble Baroness raises an important point. We are committed to building trust in our use of AI and are fully aware of the risks of the technology, as discussed at the UK AI safety summit. Where AI is used to assist its activities in the prevention and detection of fraud within UC applications, DWP always ensures appropriate safeguards, and bias is something we are very alive to. It will very much depend on the input of data and we have some risk profiles in place to ensure that we adopt best practice in that respect.”

Lord Bellingham (Con) said: “Given the appalling amount of fraud within the DWP, costing billions per year, surely we should welcome the fact that DWP is using AI and algorithms to target this problem. The key is presumably that, once AI has reached a conclusion, actual human beings should review the situation. Can the Minister tell the House whether the DWP has robust internal quality assessment procedures?”

Viscount Younger of Leckie replied: “We continue to explore the potential of AI in combating fraud. This includes the integrated risk and intelligence service, using AI to assist in identifying possible fraud in processing universal credit advances. To answer my noble friend’s question, importantly, DWP does not use AI to replace human judgment when considering the potential for incorrectness to either determine or deny payment to a claimant. The NAO and the ICO looked at this issue recently and found no areas of immediate concern.”

A petition to stop the Department for Work and Pensions ‘spying’ on the bank accounts of millions of benefits claimants has gained thousands of backers. Concerns have been raised at how widely these powers could be used and a new petition has got more than 82,000 signatures from people concerned. It is on The Organise Network and can be viewed here.

The DWP has accused people of a ‘great deal of scaremongering’ over the new measures and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride, has said when questioned: “There has been a great deal of scaremongering about what exactly these powers are about. I can make it categorically clear from the Dispatch Box that these powers are there to make sure that, in instances where there is a clear signal of fraud or error, my department is able to take action. In the absence of that, it will not.”

Assuming the bill goes through the new checks are expected to begin in 2025 and build up to a full-scale crackdown in 2030 when all 15 of the UK’s top financial institutions are on board.

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 closed.