Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are they taking to recover loans which were lost to fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lenders were required to take appropriate precautions against fraud, including Know Your Customer and Anti Money Laundering checks. If fraud has occurred because these checks have not been completed properly, lenders cannot claim on the Government guarantee and will have to bear the costs themselves. As at 16 January 2024, the Government guarantee has been removed from 11,720 loans offered across the three covid debt schemes to the value of £1.02 billion.

The Government is committed to bearing down on fraud in the schemes. We are working with a wide range of organisations, including lenders, law enforcement, and partners across government to recover fraudulently obtained loans.

The latest Government figures made available in the BEIS Annual Report and Accounts (2022/2023) indicate that estimated lifetime losses due to fraud and error will be £1.74bn.