Found: Public Bill Committees Resolved, That the Committee appoint Members to the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Forthcoming, the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, which is about tackling fraud

Found: 9AJ 22 January 2025 Dear Sir Geoffrey PUBLIC AUTHORITIES (FRAUD, ERROR AND RECOVERY) BILL

Found: Correspondence from the Secretary of State, relating to the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: the proposed Fraud and Error Bill - timing The Government introduced a new Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the additional number of benefits recipients who will be subject to eligibility verification notices under the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill as a result of her welfare reforms.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The reforms in the Green Paper are still the subject of consultation and will undergo further development once responses have been considered.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times the Public Sector Fraud Authority has applied to the county court for a recovery order for the assets of people found to have committed fraud in each of the last five years.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) works with government departments and public bodies to understand and reduce the impact of fraud and error against the public sector. The PSFA is expected to surpass its 2024-25 target of recovering and preventing £250m of fraud - ensuring public money is out of the hands of fraudsters.

Since the Authority’s launch in 2022, the PSFA has started the pilot of the new Enforcement Unit for government, which began fraud investigations in May 2024.The Enforcement Unit is actively investigating cases of fraud, and will seek to use relevant civil powers to recover funds stolen by fraudsters. To date, the PSFA has not applied to any county court for a recovery order regarding the assets of people found to have committed fraud.

This government is taking tough action to reduce public sector fraud. In January, we introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, giving us more tools to combat fraud, allowing government to investigate fraud, recover public money and sending fraudsters a clear message: you won’t get away with stealing public money.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Code of Practice in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill in protecting the (a) rights and (b) privacy of (i) vulnerable people and (ii) people living in poverty.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

As outlined in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, DWP will publish three Codes of Practice to sit alongside its Information Gathering, Debt Recovery and Eligibility Verification measures. These are in development and we are already engaging with key stakeholders on the principles of the Codes. There will be public consultations to provide an opportunity for all interested parties to review and respond.

It is important to note these Codes of Practice are not legislation and so will not contain statutory provision themselves. They offer guidance and guidelines on how the Bill’s measures will be operationalised and detail the Bill’s practical application including the application of safeguards included in the Bill itself.

The Department is confident the Bill’s powers are compliant with the government’s duties under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), including the right to private life under Article 8. The measures are justified, lawful and proportionate and the Departments’ detailed analysis on ECHR is set out in the published ECHR Memorandum, available here.

The Impact Assessment which accompanies this Bill can be found here.

The Bill includes safeguards to provide assurance the new powers are used proportionately and effectively, and in a way that protects vulnerable people and people living in poverty. More information can be found here: Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria will be used to determine suspicious bank account activity that would result in the Department requiring access to the individuals bank account under the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP’s information gathering powers may be used where there is a reasonable suspicion of fraud. In such cases the Department can issue an information notice, where necessary and proportionate, to any information holders who DWP believe hold relevant information, including banks. When gathered, this information can be used to either prove or disprove the allegation of fraud.

This is distinct from the new Eligibility Verification measure contained within the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, where banks and financial institutions will be required to share limited data with DWP on benefit-receiving account holders and accounts relating to specified benefits, where it suggests someone may be receiving an incorrect payment. For example, where a person is in receipt of Universal Credit and has savings over £16,000. This is done without any presumption of fraud.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reduce fraud in the public sector.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

This government is taking tough action to reduce public sector fraud.

In January, we introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, giving us more tools to combat fraud, allowing government to investigate fraud, recover public money and sending fraudsters a clear message: you won’t get away with stealing public money.

The Bill was introduced on 22nd January, and is currently being examined at the Committee Stage.

Utilising emerging technology to counter fraud is vital. That’s why the Public Sector Fraud Authority uses advanced analytics and is developing artificial intelligence tools to help counter fraud experts better understand, prevent and detect fraud.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle fraud in the welfare system by serious and organised criminal gangs.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP works collaboratively across Government Departments and Law Enforcement Agencies on investigations into benefit fraud carried out by organised crime gangs.

New powers in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill will strengthen our capability to tackle organised crime by modernising and enhancing our investigation powers and ensuring those defrauding the public sector face appropriate consequences.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether it is their intention that overpayments to the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme will be treated solely as a civil debt under regulation 80(4) of the draft Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025; whether the Infected Blood Compensation Authority has the power to escalate cases of deliberate fraudulent overpayment claims to criminal prosecution; and what policies and legal mechanisms exist to prosecute individuals who attempt to obtain payments unlawfully.

Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Regulation 80 (4) of the draft Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025 sets out that for where an overpayment of compensation is made by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority, the excess amount is recoverable as a civil debt. IBCA does not have any bespoke powers to prosecute suspected fraudulent claims, but will have the same tools as other public bodies to take action against fraudulent activity. The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, introduced to Parliament on 22 January 2025, proposes new powers granted to the Public Sector Fraud Authority, to be used upon referral of a case from a public body. This meets the Government’s commitment for the better recovery of money owed to the taxpayer where public money has been stolen or overpaid.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent progress her Department has made on tackling benefit overpayments made due to (a) fraud and (b) error.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

This government is determined to reduce fraud and error in the social security system. To tackle benefit overpayments, we agreed £8.6bn of savings at the Autumn Budget 2024 – the biggest fraud and error package on record, which led the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to forecast that we will reduce fraud and error to pre-pandemic levels.

On January 22^nd 2025, we introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill which will help the government better identify, prevent and deter public sector fraud and error and enable the better recovery of debt owed to the taxpayer.

As part of the £8.6bn savings, this Bill is estimated to deliver benefits of £1.5bn over the next five years, as scored by the OBR. This is made up of £940 million in savings related to fraud and error overpayments, and £565 million in additional debt recoveries.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Home Affairs on tackling financial crime in relation to the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill will help government better identify, prevent and deter public sector fraud and error and enable the better recovery of debt owed to the taxpayer. DWP has close links with other government departments and law enforcement agencies, including strong collaborative relationships with HMRC, Home Office and National Crime Agency, and will continue to build upon these to ensure the Bill measures are designed effectively.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the National Crime Agency on tackling financial crime in relation to the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill will help government better identify, prevent and deter public sector fraud and error and enable the better recovery of debt owed to the taxpayer. DWP has close links with other government departments and law enforcement agencies, including strong collaborative relationships with HMRC, Home Office and National Crime Agency, and will continue to build upon these to ensure the Bill measures are designed effectively.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of pilot schemes for third party data sharing powers as set out in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Third Party Data sharing powers were a proposal under the previous government, separate to the measures proposed in this Bill.

The Eligibility Verification Measure (EVM) is significantly different to the previously proposed Third Party Data power. EVM will be limited to information from banks and financial institutions only and will be used only for the purpose of helping to verify eligibility for benefits. The State Pension will be explicitly excluded, and it will be focussed initially on three benefits only: Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Employment and Support Allowance. A statutory Code of Practice will also be introduced and consulted on. There will be independent oversight reporting annually on the effectiveness of the measure and the legislation tightly defines what data can be gathered and for what purpose providing strong safeguards.

To demonstrate the feasibility and potential of using data from banks to help verify eligibility for benefits, DWP has already conducted two Proof of Concepts which consisted of establishing data-sharing collaborations with two high-street banks. These exercises showed promising results, for example in the first exercise around half of the matches generated for DWP to review led to a positive outcome for the department. Further information about these Proof of Concepts can be found in the published impact assessment for the Bill - Impact Assessment

The government is committed to rolling out the measure carefully through a test and learn approach to ensure it is workable and as effective as possible.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with financial services sector stakeholders on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP continues to seek feedback on the bill through regular engagement with key stakeholders, including the financial services sector, at both official and ministerial level.

Where there are particular areas of interest and expertise, detailed working group discussions are being held to ensure the measures are designed to be effective and take into consideration wider feedback from the sector.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of holding a public consultation before implementing the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP continues to seek feedback on the Bill through regular engagement with key stakeholders, including at official and ministerial level. This will ensure the measures are designed to be effective and take into consideration wider feedback from the financial sector, welfare organisations, business representative organisations and others.

There will be Codes of Practice for the Eligibility Verification Measure, Information Gathering and Debt Recovery powers, which DWP will publicly consult on before publication.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent progress her Department has made on tackling fraud in the welfare system.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

We are delivering £8.6bn of new savings over the next five years to tackle fraud. This includes recruiting an additional 3,000 counter-fraud staff, committing to deliver the Targeted Case Review in Universal Credit and bringing forward savings of £1.5bn through measures within the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery Bill) which we introduced to Parliament on 22^nd January.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill on disabled people in receipt of the Personal Independence Payment.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill will help the Government to better identify, prevent and deter public sector fraud and error and enable the better recovery of debt owed to the taxpayer.

Safeguarding vulnerable claimants is always a priority. All the powers included in the Bill include strong safeguards ensuring they are used appropriately and proportionately – including new oversight and reporting mechanisms.

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2024-25: Progress of the bill

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2024-25

Found: Eligibility Verification Measure which it is seeking to introduce through the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: includes direct action to tackle fraudsters through the introduction of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill: impact assessment - RPC opinion (green-rated)

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill: impact assessment - RPC opinion (green-rated)

Found: Committee regarding the Welsh Government's Legislative Consent Memoranda on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Chief Whip to the Chair regarding the Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: report on the Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum (No.2) on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Committee to consider and report on the Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: SUPPLIMENTARY LEGISLATIVE CONSENT MEMORANDUM (MEMORANDUM NO 2) THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES (FRAUD, ERROR AND RECOVERY) BILL

Found: LEGISLATIVE CONSENT MEMORANDUM THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES (FRAUD, ERROR AND RECOVERY) BILL 1.