Labour has confirmed it will scrap a controversial Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) system that allowed landlords to automatically deduct money from tenants' benefits.
The "computer says yes" programme has previously been ruled unlawful by a judge and has came under fire from anti-poverty campaigners.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announced on Monday night that the Government would not appeal against the court decision.
The automated system processed tens of thousands of deduction requests from landlords each year without requiring tenant approval.
Kendall said the Government would now look at ways to replace the automated programme with a system that gives tenants more say over benefit deductions.
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The DWP is removing a mechanism that allowed the benefit payments to be deducted
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"I am determined to right the wrongs that have persisted in the benefits system for too long. The automatic approval of landlords' requests for tenants' benefits to be deducted is one of these," she stated.
This latest decision from the Government marks a significant shift in how the DWP will handle landlord payment requests going forward.
The move comes as part of a broader effort to reform the benefits system under the Labour, with Kendall pledged a crackdown on benefit fraudsters.
Stephen Timms, the minister responsible for Universal Credit, said: "The benefits system needs urgent reform and we are taking action across the board to do this.
DWP Minister Liz Kendall has promised sweeping changes to the welfare state PA "[From] that's tackling the huge accumulation of debt by Carer's Allowance recipients through no fault of their own, or this automatic deduction of benefits purely at the request of a landlord."
The DWP has confirmed that it will now develop alternative payment handling processes that better protect tenants' rights.
Initially, the court's ruling against the department's practice was brought about by a legal challenge from tenant Nathan Roberts.
He argued it was an "abuse of process" that the DWP deducted £500 from his benefits at his landlord's request without consulting him first.
Roberts was in dispute with his landlord over repairs to the rented property at the time of the benefit payments deduction.
Last month, a judge made the ruling that "click-screen" programme used by the DWP was unlawful.
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Claimants of Universal Credit are expected to benefit from the change
PAEmma Varley, the lawyer from Bindmans solicitors who brought the case to court, welcomed the decision by the judge.
"The DWP's engagement in the outcome of this case is a positive – if belated – step," she said.
"Precisely what changes are going to be made remains to be seen, but the call for better decision making overall by the DWP can no longer be ignored."
