Silver Voices director Dennis Reed (Image: Staff)
Campaigners have heaped pressure on ministers to scrap new "big brother" powers that could allow the government to snoop on bank accounts of state pensioners.
They warned the measures, designed to battle fraud and error, are a "draconian attack on the civil liberties" of the 12.5 million elderly.
Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride admitted it is "not inconceivable" the powers might be used to check on payments of the old-age benefit in the future.
This is despite there being a very low level of fraud and error within the administration of state pensions.
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It has prompted a furious backlash with more than 10,000 people signing a petition calling on the measures - in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill - to be withdrawn.
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The Silver Voices campaign group for the over-60s is urging the Government to find a less intrusive way to root out problems.
Director Dennis Reed said: "These potential powers are a draconian attack on the civil liberties of state pensioners, introduced in a sneaky way by the Government.
There is outrage that the life savings of older people could be pored over by DWP investigators, on a fishing expedition.
"And even if the state pension is initially excluded, the bank accounts of all pension credit recipients will definitely be subject to these Big Brother intrusions.
"It is hard enough already to get older people to apply for benefits like pension credit and this would be a further disincentive.
"The Government needs to withdraw these ill-thought-out measures and go back to the drawing board on ways to tackle real fraud."
MPs have raised the alarm about the proposals for the Department for Work and Pensions to view benefit claimants' bank accounts for "social security purposes".
There are concerns this would allow ministers to view the banking details of any state pension recipients, whose payments are administered by DWP.
Mr Stride has defended the measures as a means of driving down the ￡8billion-a-year cost of fraud and error in Britain's welfare system.
The DWP insists it is not a surveillance power and argues that in a recent public survey, 64% of people thought the measure was an acceptable way to tackle dishonesty.
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A spokesperson said: "The Government has a duty to protect taxpayer's money, which is why we are cracking down on fraud with new powers to save ￡600million over the next five years and root out those who steal from the most vulnerable.
"This is on top of the billions being saved through our counter fraud plan and will be targeted at areas where fraud and error is highest, such as Universal Credit.
"This measure will not enable us to share any personal data with third parties, have any access to bank accounts, or have the ability to see how claimants are spending their money."
Comment: By Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices
Personal privacy is under attack with these authoritarian proposals to allow DWP investigators to trawl through the bank accounts of everyone on benefits, plus the 12.6 million state pensioners.
Banks and building societies will be obliged to surrender account details and transactions, without the knowledge of the account holders, supposedly to prevent fraud.
Presently, the DWP can only view individual accounts where there is already a suspicion of fraud. In total an astonishing 23 million people could be subject to these powers.
The Government accepts that fraud over the state pension is close to zero and yet it is seeking these powers in case “the position changes”.
Is this the opening shot of a strategy to means-test the state pension in future, where the DWP would need to check the incomes of eligible pensioners?
Otherwise, there is no case for state pensioners to be included in these powers at all.
And the snooping powers on all benefit claimants will impact on the take-up of pension credit, which is the gateway to a whole range of other benefits, for hard-up older people.
The take-up rate for pension credit is already low, at around two thirds of eligible pensioners, for a range of reasons including the complexity of the application process and pride.
Regular take-up campaigns by the Government and charities have never been successful, except around the margins.
Take-up will be even more challenging if older people know their small savings accounts will be subject to DWP fishing expeditions.
But perhaps that is the objective, to dissuade as many people as possible from claiming the benefits they are entitled to.
Mass scrutiny of personal accounts by bureaucrats will inevitably lead to mistakes, false prosecutions and security lapses.
Just like the Post Office.
These powers are intrusive, punitive and unacceptable in any free democracy.
They were introduced as a last-minute amendment in the House of Commons, leaving politicians little time to organise opposition.
We hope the House of Lords will now hold the Government to account over these totalitarian proposals.
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