Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Conclusion 25
Sixty-Ninth Report - Tackling fraud and corruption against government
Published 8 Sep 2023
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Tackling fraud and corruption against government All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Cabinet Office and the PSFA told us that while local government does not explicitly fall under their remit, they still provide support to local authorities through various means. Local authorities can make use of the data-matching functionality of the National Fraud Initiative. Local authorities have access to the resources of the counter- fraud profession and members of the profession work in local government. And under the new procurement legislation, people could also be barred from local government procurement.78 HM Treasury, however, confirmed that central government does not monitor local government’s management of fraud and corruption risks.79 73 C&AG’s Report, COVID-19 business grant schemes, Session 2022–23, HC 1200, 24 March 2023, para 7, 12 and 14 74 Committee of Public Accounts, Oral evidence: Local Authority administered COVID grant schemes, HC 1234, 11 May 2023, Qq 13–14 75 Q 92; C&AG’s Report, para 1.23 76 Q 92 77 Q 93 78 Q 93; C&AG’s Report, Figure 10 79 Q 94 18 Tackling fraud and corruption against government
From: Public Accounts Committee, Sixty-Ninth Report - Tackling fraud and corruption against government (HC 1230), 8 September 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 18 November 2023 (deadline 8 November 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government agrees with most of the Committee's recommendations on tackling fraud and corruption against government, but disagrees with the recommendation for a separate annual strategic intelligence report.
- On a strategic intelligence report, the government disagrees. The PSFA "will not publish a separate strategic intelligence report", and says it will not publish information that could increase the fraud threat by showing how attacks could be executed.
- It will continue to publish annual Fraud Landscape Reports and bulletins. It says separating fraud from error requires determining intent, which is "cost intensive", so this is left to the discretion of individual departments.
- The government agrees the PSFA should update the Committee in 12 months on the outcome of the next Workforce and Performance Review, with a target implementation date of September 2024.
- On a cross-government communications strategy, the government agrees, with a target implementation date of June 2024. A working group "will develop and maintain a cross-government communications plan".