Politics · 3 hours ago
Healey Scraps Bank Savings Checks Before Universal Credit Payouts
Chris McAndrew / UK Parliament, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Chancellor John Healey has dropped a plan, first set out by Rachel Reeves, to check Universal Credit applicants' bank savings before any money is paid out. Instead, banks will flag suspicious accounts after payments begin. Official Treasury figures suggest the change could cost taxpayers up to £15m over two years in missed fraud, and the Conservatives have accused ministers of going soft on benefit cheats.
Reported by The Telegraph · How we write briefs