The government’s plans for unlimited surveillance on benefit claimants’ bank accounts should worry us all
Prem Sikka is an Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex and the University of Sheffield, a Labour member of the House of Lords, and Contributing Editor at Left Foot Forward.
The UK government is taking statutory powers for unlimited snooping on bank and building society accounts connected with receipt of social security benefits and the state pension, even when there is no suspicion of fraud. This is the latest chapter in the right-wing coup that began in the 1980s.
Millions of individuals, landlords, charities, clubs, voluntary organisations and companies will become subject to 24/7 surveillance. No court order is needed and you won’t be told anything about the information extracted and how it is used or abused. There is no right of appeal.
The source of latest rush towards totalitarianism is the misleadingly titled Data Protection and Digital Information Bill. It has been passed by the House of Commons where the government used its big majority to stifle debate. It is now going through the House of Lords.
The attack on civil liberties is dressed up as a fraud prevention measure, but the government is unable to provide relevant data. The government claims that mass monitoring is needed to check benefit fraud, estimated to be around £6.4bn a year or 2.7% of the total benefit payments. Under the Social Security Fraud Act 2001, the government can request information from bank accounts on a case-by-case basis, if there are reasonable grounds to suspect fraud. This is being replaced by mass surveillance of bank accounts. A Minister told parliament that “proportionately fraud in the state pension is very low”, and was unable to provide any financial numbers but the government will place 12.7m retirees under surveillance.
The government claims that mass surveillance would reduce fraud by £600 million over the next five years though this somehow became £500m during the debate in the Commons, i.e. £100m-£120m a year. To put this into context, during 2023-24, the government spent £1,189bn.
Financial institutions will be paid unspecified millions to conduct mass snooping and look for cash flow sources and patterns or the level of savings, and flag people exceeding thresholds for benefits. There is a danger that gifts to loved ones to buy clothes or a new bed could be counted as income, and result in loss of benefits. The inherent assumption in the Bill is that information generated by IT systems would be correct. The Post Office scandal shows that computer generated information isn’t necessarily correct, and can lead to injustices. Neither financial institutions nor the Department of Work and Pensions will owe a ‘duty of care’ to any injured party.
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Government transparency hits new low as granting FOI requests plunges
Under Rishi Sunak, government transparency has reached an all time low with new government data revealing 2023 was the worst year for granting freedom of information (FOI) requests.
The Prime Minister has been accused of presiding over the most secretive government ever, with only 34% of resolvable FOIs granted in full, down 5% from 2022. Investigative journalist Peter Geoghegan said this drop matched the previous largest ever drop in a single year, in 2014.
This is the lowest figure since monitoring began in 2005, the government’s own data analysis has said, and reflects a growing drop in the granting of FOIs under the Tory Party.
In comparison the figure was 41% under Boris Johnson, 46% under Theresa May, 56% under David Cameron and 60% when Gordon Brown was Prime Minister.
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Green Party reaction to Labour’s rail ‘nationalisation’ plans
In response to Labour’s announcement that it plans to renationalise most passenger rail services within five years co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer, said:
“Greens give an amber light to these proposals. We have long called for full public ownership and significant investment in our railways. The passengers left stranded after cancelled or delayed services or sitting on floors next to closed train toilets are testimony to the failed privatisation experiment of our railways.
“These proposals though are only for partial public ownership and make no mention of the significant investment that our railways need. They would leave rolling stock and freight in private hands. This should be the first step to completely integrate all our railways into public ownership followed by significant investment that both the rail industry and passengers are crying out for.
“Too often Labour makes grand policy announcements that are followed by a screeching U-turn weeks or months later. This is why a Labour government will need Green MPs to help keep them on the right track and pushing them to be bolder and do better.”
Tory MP clashes with Just Stop Oil campaigners
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/tory-mp-clashes-with-just-stop-oil-campaigners
A TORY MP clashed with protesters after arriving at his office to find it plastered with posters and swathed in police “crime scene” tape over his support for a new coalmine in Cumbria.
Police were called as Workington MP Mark Jenkinson challenged Just Stop Oil campaigners outside his office this morning.
Plans for a coalmine in Cumbria have sparked repeated protests including by environment campaign Friends of the Earth and Mr Jenkinson’s own constituents.
Government approval for the mine was given in 2022.
Mr Jenkinson is an outspoken supporter of the project, arguing that it is needed to supply the steel industry.
Protester Alison Parker, 41, who is one of Mr Jenkinson’s constituents, said: “I am sick of Mark Jenkinson telling constituents like me that the coalmine is needed by the steel industry, and that it will be carbon-neutral.
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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/tory-mp-clashes-with-just-stop-oil-campaigners
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