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Order. Order.

Hello, I'm Alicia McCarthy and this is today in Parliament from BBC Radio 4 for Friday the 31st

of January, where MPs are set to debate plans to crack down on benefits cheats.

This is taxpayers' money. We want to make sure that taxpayers' money is protected

so that we can invest it in the public services on which we all rely.

Also on this programme, an Olympic cycling star explains why we should all be biking, walking and wheeling.

We've got one in four kids now leaving primary school, obese and rising,

and one in six deaths is attributed to inactivity. We're now killing more people than smoking.

And as a new inquiry is launched into the vulnerability of our undersea cables, we delve into

the history of the transatlantic telegram. The first message sent across there was between Queen Victoria and the President of the United States.

It said congratulations on this wonderful achievement.

But first, the government's calling it the biggest crackdown on fraud in a generation.

And on Monday afternoon, MPs will hold their first big debate on the public

authorities' fraud, error and recovery bill. The Department of Work and Pensions, or DWP, says

benefits cheats cost it £7 billion in the last year alone. The bill includes plans to ban people

from driving if they repeatedly fail to pay back money

and a controversial proposal to allow the DWP to recover money directly from bank accounts.

Ministers predict the changes will save around £1.5 billion over the next five years.

Earlier in the week, the Work and Pensions Committee heard from the top civil servant

at the department, Sir Peter Schofield.

He said fraud and error had gone up significantly during the pandemic when there'd been

...