Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill (First sitting)

Debate between Michael Payne and Siân Berry

Committee stage
Tuesday 25th February 2025 Public Bill Committees

[Siân Berry]

Q Were those last two comments more about the effectiveness of the legislation?

Alex Rothwell: Yes.

[Michael Payne]

Q Thank you both for sharing your experience and expertise with us this morning. It is estimated that there was about £5.4 billion-worth of fraud and error in temporary covid-19 schemes that were not run by HMRC. You will know that this is an area of significant public interest. The Public Accounts Committee said:

“It is very unlikely that most of the losses due to fraud and corruption”

during the pandemic

“will ever be recovered.”

How far do you agree with that statement? Do you think the new powers for the Public Sector Fraud Authority change the prospects?

Alex Rothwell: I absolutely do think they change those prospects. I was still in law enforcement when covid-19 was happening, and there was an extensive discussion about the police’s ability to support investigations. Frankly, policing had significant challenges with fraud, and still does, in terms of the volume of attacks against individuals and businesses, which made supporting the public sector almost an impossible ask, so I certainly welcome the ability to strengthen the public sector fraud response.

On whether the money will be recovered, there are significant challenges, as I am sure you are aware. It is right to apply a cost-benefit approach as well; although there is a moral imperative, we increasingly look at things in a commercial sense and at whether there is financial value in recovering funds.

Kristin Jones: It is very difficult to get money back from fraudsters, especially where it is organised, because the money disappears into different accounts in different names, and overseas through lots of corporate bodies, so it will be a big challenge. The important thing about this piece of legislation is whether we are future-proofing it so that, looking forward, we can learn from what has happened in the past and not repeat the mistakes.