ESA Annual savings and property monitoring letter.

I didn't know what search terms to enter to find out about my issue, so I started a new topic. Sorry for any repetition in advance.

I received a letter which I have responded to and sent information I was asked for. It's from ESA, and follows on from my being honest about receiving an inheritance last year which took me over £16,000 in savings and property.

I find it ambiguous on a couple of counts. It claims they do this every year, but it's the first one I've ever received in all my years of being a claimant.
There's also the vaguely sinister line on the declaration page about information submitted by a claimant which states, "We may use it for any of our purposes," which I find worrying.
Despite the supposedly reassuring tone of the rest of it, considering how much requested information has been withheld by the DWP in various FOI applications about their sinister dealings, the 100,000+ dead sick/disabled claimants and the barely concealed contempt in which this government holds life's unfortunates, I am not at all happy about this letter
I've also heard that they can snoop into people's bank accounts without the account holder's knowledge. I also have a relative who was on UC until our inheritance whom the DWP told that for a fresh claim to be made, the DWP would have to be satisfied that their savings hadn't been squandered which seems draconian in the extreme.

A few months ago, I embarked on travelling holiday with an Interrail pass I obtained half price, and duly informed the DWP about my leaving the UK, despite the time away being 27 days. I fear the worst. I will be hounded by them and be put through the mill of justifying my existence.
Please see transcript from the letter, below:

YOUR CLAIM FOR EMPLOYMENT AND SUPPORT
ALLOWANCE

Dear

---

Every year we look at the savings and property that may affect
your allowance. The savings and property you have told us about are made up of
the following
Type: Bank A/C (current)
Worth: £----
For: You

WHAT WE WANT YOU TO DO
We need to know if these savings or property have changed. Please
send us these things if you have them. They will tell us what we need to know.
Latest bank statements
Building society books
National Savings Certificates
The latest valuation of any property that you own, other than the property that you normally live in.
Things like these that will tell us about the savings or property. Details of any other savings or property not listed above
We will send them back to you as soon as we can. If you want, you can send us photocopies of these things. Please use the prepaid envelope we have sent you.
Or you can bring them into our office. If you do, we will deal with them straight away. Our address is at the top of this letter.
Page 1 of 6
Please turn over

ABOUT ANY CHANGES
We need to know straight away if anything you told us about changes, because it could affect how much allowance you get. If you do not tell us, we may not pay you the right amount of allowance.
HELP AND ADVICE
If you want to know more about anything in this letter, get in touch with us. Our address and phone number are at the top of this
letter.
You can also get help from an advice centre like the Citizens Advice Bureau,
Yours sincerely,
Office Manager
Page 2 of 6

Treating people fairly
We are committed to the Equality Act 2010 and treating people fairly. To find out more about this law, search 'Equality' on www.gov.uk
Call charges
Calls to 0800 numbers are free from UK personal mobiles and landlines.
Why DWP needs personal information and how we treat it
We treat personal information carefully. We may use it for any of our purposes. To learn more about information rights and how we use information, please visit our DWP Personal Information Charter at www.gov.uk/dwp/personal-information-charter
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I have also had this letter, getting ESA income related, presumably they want to stop money if not replied to. Seems like invasion of privacy. This benefit does not depend on income?

I also have recently received this letter, I have received one every year since I declared a small inheritence taking me over the 6k savings threshold. I will send an up to date bank statement, always posted recorded delivery, as I usually do and await their letter advising me whether they will be making further stoppages to my ESA.
I don't like it much but I don't find once a year overly intrusive for being in the fortunate position of having some savings.. When I made a large purchase one year I sent a receipt with a covering letter and they adjusted the amount they stop from my ESA backdated to the date of the purchase. So it can work both ways.

Sorry that was incorrect. I have contributions based ESA not income related. I am being asked for bank statements and to explain any purchases above £250 since June 2021. What happens if I do not send them as I do not feel it is appropriate in my situation and an invasion of privacy.