NHS Counter Fraud Authority (Establishment, Constitution, and Staff and Other Transfer Provisions) (Amendment) Order 2020

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth Excerpts

Monday 7th September 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con) [V]]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Jones, one of the most liked and respected politicians in Wales. I thank the Minister for bringing forward the order, which I certainly support. The NHS is rightly a cherished national institution and extra funding has indeed been brought forward by the Government. That is quite right, particularly in light of the current challenging crisis that faces us.

Fraud is always to be condemned, but there is something especially nauseating when it is taking money away from patient care in our cherished national institution, the NHS. Fraud is something that we should all take very seriously. Like the noble Lord, Lord Jones, I thank the NHS Counter Fraud Authority for the work that it has been doing developing intelligence against fraud and saving the NHS money by uncovering fraud: £60 million in the last year for which figures are available. Of that, £27.6 million related to dental contractor fraud, so that was a considerable amount.

The Minister for Care in the other place said that coronavirus presents a heightened risk of fraud; indeed, the Minister said the same again today. In the light of that, does the Minister believe that additional resources are needed in these challenging circumstances to save additional money for the NHS? If so, what is being done in that regard? I know that the Counter Fraud Authority has been working on a revised strategy, but I do not believe that it has yet been published. Does the Minister have any detail on that, and will he indicate when that strategy will be published?

I believe that PPE for combating Covid—which has presented, in some respects, a challenge with regard to fraud—is purchased centrally by the Government and is therefore not subject to the scrutiny and supervision of the NHS Counter Fraud Authority. Can the Minister indicate what body is scrutinising this area for fraud, what supervision does exist, and if that body—whatever it may be—is working alongside the NHS Counter Fraud Authority in order that the two bodies can be truly effective in that respect?

I thank the Minister very much for bringing these regulations forward; we should all welcome them. I hope that we are able—because I realise that this is on a three-year rolling cycle—to assure the people who are doing this vital work that their jobs are safe. I am sure that is the case, but I fear that when we see these things on a three-year rolling cycle, towards the end of the three years the employees and those working for the authority might perhaps be wondering what will happen to their jobs. I am sure that that is not the case, but anything that the Minister can say about the continuing security of these jobs would be welcomed by the House. With that, I lend my support to this order.