Asked by: Luke Charters (Labour - York Outer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent estimate his Department has made of the level of credit losses arising from fraudulent loans provided through the (a) Bounce Back Loans Scheme and (b) Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As at March 2024, £1.51 billion has been paid out on the government guarantee on BBLS loans where there was lender reported suspected fraud, and £19.8 million has been paid out on the government guarantee on CBILS loans where there was lender reported suspected fraud.
We are committed to reducing loss to the taxpayer and continue to work across Government, law enforcement and commercial lenders to address fraud in relation to the Covid debt schemes.
Lender recovery activity is monitored via the British Business Bank (BBB) which includes data analytics, review of facilities under the Guarantee Agreement, and an ongoing assurance programme. If lenders have not fulfilled their obligations under the scheme guarantee, they would be unable to claim under the guarantee and any loss would therefore sit with the lender. The National Investigation Service (NATIS) is a secondary line of defence in recovering taxpayers’ money and investigates the most egregious reports of fraudulent abuse within the BBLS. Other recovery efforts include the work of the Insolvency Service and work with lenders to pilot greater use of third-party debt collection specialists, compulsory liquidation for recovery and enforcement in fraud cases.
Oct. 22 2024
Source Page: I. Universal Credit Programme Board Papers from May, June July, September and October 2022 [redacted] (64 docs). II. Letter dated 16/10/2024 from Stephen Timms MP to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding documents for deposit in the House libraries (includes list of papers by month). 3p.Found: Fraud & Error and Overpayment s The UC FBC Fraud and Error (F&E) savings 10.
Oct. 22 2024
Source Page: I. Universal Credit Programme Board Papers from May, June July, September and October 2022 [redacted] (64 docs). II. Letter dated 16/10/2024 from Stephen Timms MP to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding documents for deposit in the House libraries (includes list of papers by month). 3p.Found: The recently published Monetary Value of Fraud and Error (MVFE) figures for the year ending March
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the total value of fraudulent claims under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme; and how much and what proportion of those claims the Government has recovered as of 17 January 2024.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston
Information on His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs estimates regarding the rate of error and fraud for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the other COVID-19 support schemes administered by HMRC is available at the following link : https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measuring-error-and-fraud-in-the-covid-19-schemes/error-and-fraud-in-the-covid-19-schemes-methodology-and-approach-an-update-for-2023
Information regarding HMRC’s compliance activity in the COVID-19 support schemes is available at the following link:
committees.parliament.uk/publications/42603/documents/211751/default/
Asked by: Rebecca Long Bailey (Independent - Salford)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential (a) merits, (b) costs and (c) viability of establishing a financial compensation scheme for taxpayers who did not receive government financial support during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government currently has no plans to assess or pursue such a financial compensation scheme.
HM Treasury provided an extensive package of support for individuals, businesses and public services throughout the pandemic, including an estimated £98 billion through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS). Together the schemes supported approximately 14.6 million employed and self-employed individuals, helping to protect jobs, businesses and livelihoods.
The previous Government provided support through the CJRS and SEISS based on two principles, a) targeting support at those who needed it most and b), guarding against error, fraud and abuse, whilst reaching as many individuals as possible. The SEISS paid out over £28 billion to nearly 3 million self-employed individuals and was one of the most generous schemes for the self-employed in the world. Those ineligible for the SEISS may have been eligible for other elements of financial support provided by the previous Government.
Asked by: Pat McFadden (Labour - Wolverhampton South East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate she has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by her Department in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.
The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report. This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system. The 2020/21 Report was published in March 2023.
Due to the recent Machinery of Government changes, the Department for Business and Trade have not yet published any fraud and error estimates.
The latest published figures available for the Department for International Trade are available in the 2022 Cross-Government Fraud Landscape Annual Report.
The latest Government figures made available in the BEIS Annual Report and Accounts (2022/2023), for all BEIS activities, indicated that estimated expected losses due to fraud and error within the Bounce Back Loan Scheme will be £1.74bn. There are not material levels of fraud and error within the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme or the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
Other losses include £4 million in relation to 2 suspected fraudulent payments within the Future Fund Scheme.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2023 to Question 4170 on Fraud: Coronavirus, what proportion of the recovered £88 million is designated as (a) fraud and (b) error.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The UK government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system and has invested over an extra £1bn in tackling fraud and error since Autumn 2021 across government. This includes the launch of the Public Sector Fraud Authority in August 2022 which builds on lessons learned in the management of fraud risk and loss in the pandemic.
The government’s ‘Cross-Government Fraud Landscape Annual Report 2022’ showed that at the end of March 2021 there had been £88.2m of fraud and error recovered within COVID-19 schemes (excluding HMRC-administered COVID-19 schemes and any fraud and error related to tax and welfare). Of this, £19.6m was reported by departments as fraud and £68.6m was reported as error. These figures only represent 2020-2021 data, since then, further funds have been recovered.
Mentions:
1: Pat McFadden (Lab - Wolverhampton South East) Hallett is unequivocal:“The UK was ill prepared for dealing with a catastrophic emergency, let alone the coronavirus - Speech Link
2: Layla Moran (LD - Oxford West and Abingdon) That is why Back Benchers across this House set up the all-party parliamentary group on coronavirus, - Speech Link
3: Shaun Davies (Lab - Telford) agree that procurement during a state of emergency such as the pandemic is important, and that any fraud - Speech Link
4: Pat McFadden (Lab - Wolverhampton South East) As he will be aware, this Government will bring forward proposals for a covid fraud commissioner to recover - Speech Link
Apr. 24 2024
Source Page: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Final Evaluation July 2023Found: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Final Evaluation July 2023
Nov. 06 2024
Source Page: Offence of 'failure to prevent fraud' introduced by ECCTAFound: Offence of 'failure to prevent fraud' introduced by ECCTA