Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to tackle online content encouraging people to pursue fraudulent benefits claims.

The unscrupulous people who actively try to promote, encourage, or assist in fraud must not be tolerated and these people must face consequences. Offences under the Fraud Act 2006 can carry a maximum sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment. This includes offences such as making or supplying articles for use in fraud, including electronic materials where the person knows or intends that the information will be used to commit fraud – for example, the deliberate sale or distribution of fraud instruction manuals online.

We already work with partners, including Action Fraud, the City of London Police and the National Cyber Security Centre to prevent fraudulent activity online and DWP monitor social media platforms regularly. Additionally, Ofcom’s first Online Safety Codes of Practice sets out an expectation that large services at medium or high risk of fraud provide DWP with access to a dedicated channel for reporting fraud. Under the Online Safety Act 2023, social media companies now have a legal duty to remove illegal content, including fraudulent material.