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Registered office Chinaworks, London, SE1 7SJ
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info@bigbrotherwatch.org.uk| Privacy Policy

WELFARE DATA WATCH



Join our investigation to uncover the Government’s use of secret algorithms that shape the welfare system and disadvantage society’s poorest, by using our simple tool.



TAKE ACTION

Learn more

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. ENTER THE UK'S POVERTY PANOPTICON
  3. MAPPED
  4. THE KEY FINDINGS
  5. TAKE ACTION
  6. MAKE SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST
  7. IN THE MEDIA

POVERTY PANOPTICON

Our 9-month long investigation “Poverty Panopticon: The Hidden Algorithms Shaping Britain’s Welfare State” revealed how councils across the UK are conducting mass profiling of welfare and social care recipients and “citizen scoring” to predict fraud, rent non-payments and major life events. Huge databases predict if children are at risk of abuse or if people could likely to become involved in future criminality or even if they’re being abused.

We can now lift the lid on what life is like inside the UK's poverty panopticon.

Inside the UK's Poverty Panopticon
Black box algorithms and secretive AI tools sit at the heart of the UK's welfare system - with little accountability. Our investigation offers a glimpse into life inside the UK’s poverty panopticon.
Enter
keywords
  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. ENTER THE UK'S POVERTY PANOPTICON
  3. MAPPED
  4. THE KEY FINDINGS
  5. TAKE ACTION
  6. MAKE SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST
  7. IN THE MEDIA

Mapped

Find out if your local council uses people's personal data to decide if they are a ‘fraud risk’ using our interactive map.

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. ENTER THE UK'S POVERTY PANOPTICON
  3. MAPPED
  4. THE KEY FINDINGS
  5. TAKE ACTION
  6. MAKE SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST
  7. IN THE MEDIA

OUR KEY FINDINGS



540,000 benefits applicants secretly assigned fraud risk scores by councils’ algorithms before they can access support.






Personal data from 1.6 million people living in social housing is processed by commercial algorithms to predict rent non-payers






250,000+ people’s personal information processed by secretive automated tools that try to predict if they’ll be abused, become homeless, or become involved in crime

Read the report by clicking here or on the image below

Image with link to the report titled Poverty Panopticon: The hidden algorithms shaping Britain's welfare state

Take Action

1

Join us!

The strength of our campaign relies on your support. Join the fight for the future today!

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2

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3

Submit a SAR

If you receive Housing Benefit and want to help our investigation, submit a Subject Access Request using our template

Submit a SAR

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. ENTER THE UK'S POVERTY PANOPTICON
  3. MAPPED
  4. THE KEY FINDINGS
  5. TAKE ACTION
  6. MAKE SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST
  7. IN THE MEDIA

Make a Subject Access Request

You are legally entitled to ask any organisation how they use your information and why. A Subject Access Request lets you ask what data your council or the DWP holds on you and how it is used.

The responses you get will be vital to our research - if you decide to share it confidentially with Big Brother Watch. In return, we promise to do everything we can to explain how your data is being processed.

If you receive Housing Benefit and want to help our investigation, follow these three simple steps:

1. Fill in this form

2. Copy and paste the letter below into the “Information You Need Box”

We suggest a date range for the request from 1st January 2019 to the present day.

It is important to include a) your contact details; b) any additional information (account numbers, etc.) that the council may use to distinguish you from others.

You may be asked to provide a copy of an ID to make sure you’re getting the right data, this is completely normal.

3. Send the results in confidence to info@bigbrotherwatch.org.uk

If you have any questions, email us and we will be happy to help.

Click to copy

To Whom It May Concern,


I am writing to submit a Subject Access Request for information held on me by the Department for Work and Pensions.

I am solely requesting information about the processing of my data in relation to the Housing Benefit Accuracy Award Initiative (HBAAI).

Please furnish me with:

  • The data about me inputted into the HBAAI algorithm.
  • The risk score/similar generated about me by the algorithm.
  • Details on how this data was processed, including details of any automated and/or algorithmic process used to aid in decision making.

Please also explain any other profiling, algorithm or automated aid to decision making applied to me or my data.

Best Wishes,

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. ENTER THE UK'S POVERTY PANOPTICON
  3. MAPPED
  4. THE KEY FINDINGS
  5. TAKE ACTION
  6. MAKE SUBJECT ACCESS REQUEST
  7. IN THE MEDIA

IN THE MEDIA

The Guardian – DWP algorithm mistakenly flags 200,000 people for possible fraud and error

June 23, 2024

BBC – Secretive algorithms screening millions of welfare claimants

July 20, 2021

Code overlayed on UK council houses
New Statesman – How surveillance within the welfare system is affecting Britain’s poorest people

July 20, 2021

Go to media

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