Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the risk of loss to the public purse as a result of fraud during the procurement of personal protective equipment; and what plans he has put in place to mitigate that risk.
Fraud is a hidden crime and the Government takes fraud against the public sector seriously.
The Department and NHS Counter Fraud Authority are working closely with partners, as part of the Government’s COVID-19 Counter-Fraud Response, to identify fraud risks and implement measures to reduce the impact and harm of fraud.
Fraud Risk Assessments are being conducted to highlight high-risk areas for fraud, including procurement and inform the Department’s COVID-19 Post Event Assurance Action Plan. These robust measures aim to test, assess and enhance mitigations to prevent fraud losses.
It is accepted across Government that there will be a lead time for frauds, around COVID