Scottish Tory leader proposes confiscating licences for benefit fraud offenders

At the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay launched a Benefit Fraud Bill targeting welfare fraud. The draft would double the top penalty to ten years in prison, create a statutory aggravator for benefit-related fraud, and let authorities withdraw overpaid funds straight from bank accounts. It further proposes confiscating driving licences when offenders refuse to repay.

Findlay criticised the SNP-run benefits system as costly and ineffective, noting only three convictions since 2022 and citing a recent scandal involving candidate Sally Donald. Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP Willie Rennie dismissed the measures as extreme and politically motivated.