Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Cabinet Office is taking to tackle fraud.

The Cabinet Office, as a department, is committed to protecting public resources and upholding financial integrity by maintaining and continuously improving its counter fraud measures. Details on cross-government fraud action can be sought from the Public Sector Fraud Authority, based in DWP.

For the department, fraud is addressed through a number of different lenses.

• Detection:

• Participation in the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) which is a biennial data-matching exercise run by the Public Sector Fraud Authority that matches electronic data within and between public and private sector bodies.

• The department has established whistleblowing and reporting mechanisms for staff and members of the public to report concerns and allegations of fraud, which are considered in good faith.

• System and operational controls have been established across financial systems to establish separation of duties, approvals and audit points.

• Prevent and Deter:

• Counter fraud training is a required learning module for all staff each year. Greater awareness of what fraud is better enables staff to identify risks and irregularities consistently and at earlier opportunities.

• A communication strategy provides a rhythm of information on emerging threats, case studies, tools and guidance. This includes participation in International Fraud Awareness Week.

• Initial Fraud Impact Assessments are required for all new spending decisions and grants where Full Risk Assessments are conducted where required. This enables the department to proactively consider appropriate controls.

• Response:

• The department responds to all substantiated allegations of fraud by seeking the most appropriate actions including, civil recovery and Police referral. The department is supported by the PSFA enforcement unit and internal debt recovery providers as and when required.

• Governance and reporting

• The department is subject to reporting and assurance processes governed by the PSFA.

• The department has an accountable board member for counter fraud to represent the internal counter fraud agenda and to provide oversight at a senior level.

• The Cabinet Office Counter Fraud team regularly reports to the department’s audit and risk committee who provide critical challenges to the scope, scale and depth of counter fraud arrangements in the department.