Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Staff

(asked on 27th January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 24 January (HL Deb, col 21) where he stated that "at the beginning of Covid, BEIS had the grand total of two counter-fraud officials on its staff", whether they will provide details about (1) where the staff were located, (2) their job specifications, (3) their qualifications, (4) their work experience, and (5) the dates on which any additional staff were appointed to perform similar tasks.


Answered by
Lord Callanan Portrait
Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This question was answered on 10th February 2022

Prior to the Covid pandemic BEIS had 2 suitably qualified officials supported by a Civil Service fast streamer within the central Counter Fraud function however to consider this the total response to Counter Fraud is reductive.

As the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic developed, BEIS expenditure increased from a pre-COVID-19 level of less than £20 billion per year to over £100 billion. With the extraordinary speed of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme launch – necessary to ensure business across the UK received the financial support they so urgently needed as quickly as possible - BEIS deployed a Senior Civil Servant, with extensive experience in counter fraud, to lead the counter fraud effort and a number of BEIS employees were redeployed into counter fraud roles to support the core team leading on the COVID-19 loan schemes.

It is important to note that this represents only the core BEIS Counter Fraud function and that there is additional resource deployed across the BEIS affiliated organisations dealing with counter fraud. BEIS Counter Fraud function operates as part of the wider Government Counter Fraud function and with partners across the civil service and law enforcement.

In early 2021 investment was secured to expand the Counter Fraud capability including an additional 10 counter fraud posts, one being a permanent Senior Civil Service post. Recruitment for these posts started in mid-2021 and as at January 2022 the core BEIS counter fraud workforce has increased to nine.

Moving forward, this increase in BEIS counter fraud resource and capability will deliver a counter fraud centre of expertise, supporting and working with the many counter fraud experts across the Arm’s Length Bodies and Partner Organisations affiliated to BEIS. It will develop a robust Lessons process to build prevention strategies for future loans and grant schemes that our Arm’s Length Bodies and Partner Organisations may have deliver and provide the focal point for data collection and reporting between the affiliated groups and the Cabinet Office.

Reticulating Splines