Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps with City of London Police to improve (a) the (i) support services and (ii) reporting tools available to victims of fraud and (b) the quality of intelligence on fraud provided to police forces.

We are replacing the current Action Fraud service with a new improved service. The new service will have an upgraded call centre and a new user-friendly, accessible website for reporting fraud, offering simpler pathways to support and guidance. The service will also offer a new data and intelligence platform to speed up the analysis and dissemination of reports to police forces for investigation.

Victims will also get better updates on the progress of their report and there will be faster identification of the most vulnerable victims to receive enhanced support, including through the National Economic Crime Victim Care Unit (NECVCU).

The aim of NECVCU is for victims to feel safe and more confident following contact, whilst assisting them to cope and recover from the crime and significantly reduce the likelihood of repeat victimisation. Since its inception in 2018, NECVCU has supported 440,994 victims of fraud and since January 2021, NECVCU has also helped victims recover £3,685,201.