£400 million-plus saved as Government takes fight to public purse fraudsters

The National Fraud Initiative enables organisations to use data and match records such that they can pick up where people or businesses are “taking the Government for a ride”. Since its inception, the National Fraud Initiative has identified and helped to recover around £2.4 billion.

The latest figures show that circa 42,000 fraudulent disabled blue badges were being used, while more than 225,000 cases where discounted travel cards of people who had died or didn’t qualify for concessions have been blocked.

Around 7,000 people who were clogging up the social housing waiting lists of 102 councils, despite not being eligible for inclusion, have been identified and removed, in turn opening up affordable housing for those who need it.

Protecting the taxpayer

Jeremy Quin, Minister for the Cabinet Office, said: “British people work hard for every penny they earn and rightly expect the Government to put everything they have into protecting taxpayers’ money. Money stolen from the Government through fraud is theft from every taxpayer. This report shows that we have saved the taxpayer £443 million. When the country is tightening its belt, Government must do the same.”

Quin added: “To be even more effective, earlier this year  we set up a new anti-fraud authority, which is designed and led by fraud experts whose express mission is to take the fight to the fraudsters.”

One case study was in Sandwell where an individual was offered social housing. They then claimed to a neighbouring council that they were homeless and were offered temporary housing. The use of National Fraud Initiative data-matching allowed the fraud to be identified and the individual is now in arrears of nearly £100,000.

Another episode arose in Tameside where a hospitality business, which was ineligible for small business support, lied to two councils about its size and received more than £40,000 in rates relief.

Wider investment

Mark Cheeseman, interim CEO of the Public Sector Fraud Authority, noted: “Every day, people are attacking taxpayer-funded services for their own gain. The Public Sector Fraud Authority, where the National Fraud Initiative is now based, is part of a wider investment across Government focused on rising to this challenge.”

Further, Cheeseman stated: “In a difficult context, these latest results are still the best since the National Fraud Initiative started in 1996. The organisation is now stopping more fraud than at any other point in its history and protecting public money and public services. This achievement is a testament to the work of public servants across the United Kingdom, including local authorities and NHS Trusts who are striving to find and stop fraud.”

The Public Sector Fraud Authority has been backed by £25 million of new funding with a target of saving £180 million for the taxpayer by April 2023. It houses the National Counter Fraud Data Analytics Service, which includes the National Fraud Initiative, putting the use of data and analytics at the heart of the response to fraud. The new Public Sector Fraud Authority will be working across Government to better understand fraud and solidify defences.”

Cutting-edge data

John Glen, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, observed: “This Government is coming down hard on fraudsters, using cutting-edge data to track them and recover public money. We’re boosting that work with an extra £280 million to tackle benefit fraud and £79 million in order to tackle tax fraud. No-one is above the law.”

During the Autumn Statement, the Government announced that it will invest £79 million to tackle tax fraud. HMRC will be given £48 million to strengthen its approach to serious fraud, allowing the department to pursue more cases, while another £31 million will increase its capacity to deal with complex tax risks among wealthy taxpayers. Together, this investment is expected to raise £725 million over the next five years.

An additional £280 million in funding for the Department for Work and Pensions to tackle fraud and error across the benefits system will also help to save £410 million in the next two years and £2.2 billion per year by 2027-2028.