Recommendations & Conclusions
22 items
2
Recommendation
75th Report - Government use of data an…
Government’s digital and counter-fraud experts know what government needs to do to make fraud and error savings through data analytics, but do not have a robust plan to support public bodies to do so. There are several barriers preventing the wider use of data analytics to fight fraud and error …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. (GFF) recognises the value in working together to deliver a reduction in fraud losses through data analytics. To deliver this, and building on existing well-established working relationships, GDS, PSFA and GFF will establish …
HM Treasury
3
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
We are concerned that government has not built the digital capability or senior digital leadership it needs to achieve change and bring fraud savings from data analytics. Digital transformation will require strong leadership. The government accepted the previous Committee’s September 2023 recommendation that all departments should have a non-executive director …
Government response. The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Although DSIT does not have statutory powers to mandate board‑level appointments across departments and ALBs, it plays a central role in setting expectations and driving collective action on digital leadership. DSIT acknowledges ongoing …
HM Treasury
4
Recommendation
75th Report - Government use of data an…
Government is not doing enough to promote the effective sharing of data, which is stopping departments from maximising the savings they could make from data analytics. Government bodies have legal frameworks through which to share data, such as those established by the Digital Economy Act 2017, but find it time-consuming …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. fraud controls that support public bodies to embed preventative and detective controls. The PSFA’s Data and Analytics Team is developing a central list of counter fraud data analytics controls that includes guidance on …
HM Treasury
5
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
Departments are not doing enough to be transparent or build public trust on the use of data analytics to tackle fraud. In tackling fraud, government must balance maintaining public trust by being transparent about what it is doing, with not providing so much information that it helps fraudsters. We are …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented Ensuring departmental compliance is an ongoing effort for DSIT. DSIT updated the Committee as part of the Treasury Minute process at the end of 2025, and the Permanent Secretary gave oral …
HM Treasury
6
Recommendation
75th Report - Government use of data an…
Current legislation limits government’s ability to deploy data analytics to tackle fraud and error. Some existing legislation, such as the Digital Economy Act, support the use of data analytics to fight fraud and error by enabling data sharing across departments. However, there are also instances where legislation, written some time …
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. and the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014), or future legislation impacts government's ability to implement counter fraud and error data analytics, and communicate its assessment to the Committee. This assessment will also …
HM Treasury
1
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), and the Government Finance Function (GFF) within HM Treasury.1
Government response. The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. and update the government financial reporting manual (FReM), the technical accounting guide that supports public bodies in the preparation of their financial statements, to include a requirement for public bodies to set out …
HM Treasury
7
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
The PSFA told us that it now agrees annual targets for all government departments to reduce fraud error.12 Its latest figures from 2023–24 suggest that working towards these targets is having a tangible impact in preventing and recovering fraud losses.13 Although DWP makes its own fraud reduction targets public, the …
HM Treasury
8
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
There are a number of issues that are undermining government’s efforts to use data analytics more widely to combat fraud and error. DSIT told us that that getting usable data can be difficult because they are held on legacy IT systems or because the data are not of good enough …
HM Treasury
9
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
We recommended in March 2025 that government’s planned digital and AI roadmap should be underpinned by a implementation plan with clear accountabilities, delivery milestones, and metrics to allow progress to be tracked.19 The NAO report echoed this, further recommending that the PSFA publish a plan setting out how it will …
HM Treasury
10
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
The previous Committee recommended in September 2023 that all Departments should appoint at least one non-executive director with relevant digital, data and technology transformation expertise to their Board.22 This recommendation is reflected in the Government’s new Roadmap for modern digital government, which sets an expectation that by December 2026 “Central …
HM Treasury
11
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
The Cabinet Office told us in March 2025 that, to achieve annual savings of up to £500 million by reducing the need for digital consultants, it was aiming for 10% of civil servants to have digital expertise.25 Only 5.5% of the civil service met this criteria in April 2025, though …
HM Treasury
12
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
At present much work on sharing best practice and increasing digital and counter-fraud capability across government is carried on through networks and communities of practice, though not all colleagues who might benefit from these sessions are in attendance.29 The PSFA told us that it works with DSIT and the community …
HM Treasury
13
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
As confirmed in January 2025’s Blueprint for modern digital government policy paper, cross-government digital leadership now resides with DSIT.32 The blueprint included a plan to raise the status of the Government Chief Digital Officer to second permanent secretary-level. DSIT told us that it has now replaced the Government Chief Digital …
HM Treasury
14
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
The Digital Economy Act 2017 established a process through which government bodies can agree arrangements to share data with one another. The NAO reported that, as of July 2025, there had been 28 data-sharing pilot agreements set up through this process to tackle fraud, although only four had become business-as-usual …
HM Treasury
15
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
The National Fraud initiative (NFI) is a tool created in 1996 that brings data together from across the public sector to help bodies look for fraud and, to a lesser extent, for error. The NFI was originally focused on local authorities, who are required to use it. But the PSFA …
HM Treasury
16
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
The NAO report noted that, at present, there is no available library of counter-fraud tools and examples for government bodies to refer to.45 It recommended that the PSFA should maintain a library of digital counter- fraud control that public bodies can use to find ways to address their fraud risks.46 …
HM Treasury
17
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
The PSFA told us that it is important to use data to fight fraud, and to maintain public trust that government bodies are holding their data in accordance with Parliament’s intentions.49 The C&AG told us that, while transparency in government operations was a positive thing, when dealing with counter-fraud measures …
HM Treasury
18
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
To ensure transparency, government bodies are required to disclose the use of algorithms, AI and machine learning through the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard (ATRS) hub.52 As at February 2026 the hub, which requires records of any such items used in decision making, recorded 110 being used in central government. Of …
HM Treasury
19
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
The NAO noted that DWP provided an example of good practice in transparency by setting out in its annual report and accounts how it ensures that its use of data analytics does not result in adverse impacts 49 Q 37 50 Q 25 51 Q 74 52 Qq 69-70 53 …
HM Treasury
20
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
The PSFA told us that current legislation, for example the Digital Economy Act 2017 mentioned previously, is an essential foundation for the use of data analytics to fight fraud and error. That Act provided a mechanism which enabled government bodies to share certain datasets, allowing for greater use of data …
HM Treasury
21
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
However, the PSFA also told us that there are instances where legislation, written some time ago, does not fully support the effective deployment of modern data analytics techniques. For example, the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 does not allow for profiling of individuals’ behaviours. Which means in practice that …
HM Treasury
22
Conclusion
75th Report - Government use of data an…
Legislation also requires that data collected as part of the National Fraud Initiative, enabled by the Local Audit and Accountability Act, can only be retained for the two years – the duration of each biennial exercise. The PSFA told us that this data would be useful to inform counter-fraud work …
HM Treasury