Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what use HM Revenue and Customs makes of BACS hashing to check the accuracy of employers' submissions through real-time information of employees' pay.

Employers do not need to pay their employees by BACS (Direct Credit), but where they do, the BACS hash enables HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to automatically verify that the payment amount reported by the employer is the same as the payment received in the individual’s bank account.

Where HMRC receives a hash from an employer, HMRC share whether or not this has matched with DWP who use this information to help validate Universal Credit claims.