Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Accepted
However, funding for counter fraud activities remains low, with limited recoveries being made.
Conclusion
However, funding for counter fraud activities remains low, with limited recoveries being made. The Department’s National Investigation Service (NATIS), a law enforcement agency partnered with the Department since September 2020, has received £13.2m in funding. The Department told us that NATIS have 558 open investigations, recovered £5.8 million of irregular payments, and arrested 58 individuals in connection with Bounce Back Loan Scheme fraud.32 The Department stated that the low level of funding for NATIS, compared to DWP’s spend on counter fraud is due to the focus on the most serious organised crime elements of fraudulent activity, and the fact that the bulk of anti- fraud work is undertaken by the lenders themselves.33
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's conclusion and states the recommendation is implemented. It has developed an overarching BBLS Counter Fraud strategy and is commissioning a series of pilots to test additional recovery activities for suspected wrongdoing, with plans for next steps to consider further recovery action.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
3.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 3.2 The Department for Business and Trade has developed an overarching Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) Counter Fraud strategy which is driving an extensive programme of activity in DBT, BBB and wider delivery partners. DBT is considering whether a version of this should be made public in due course. 3.3 The British Business Bank (BBB) publishes data on the COVID-19 debt schemes on a quarterly basis. This is a simultaneous publication inclusive of a full lender list and across the debt scheme portfolios. The most recent publication was made on 19 May 2023. The data points reported include the following information for each lender: • Life event values: This data provides an overview of the overall performance of each lender’s BBLS loan book, for each of the loan states (arrears, defaults, claimed or settled). • Suspected fraud analysis, including: i) drawn loan amount; ii) total values of suspected fraud; iii) value of claims where the lender has stated that the reason for the claim is due to fraud; and life event values for suspected fraud facilities (for example, suspected fraud for loans in arrears, in defaulted loans, in claimed loans or settled loans) 3.4 Publication of this data is an important part of the government’s ongoing commitment to transparency in relation to the COVID-19 debt schemes. This work is supported by the Public Sector Fraud Authority, who have led the development of a sophisticated analytics programme to better understand the level and types of fraud committed against the scheme. 3.5 The department has commissioned a series of pilots to test the case for additional recovery activities where wrongdoing is suspected, starting with an involuntary liquidation pilot, an enforcement pilot and a pilot involving a private debt management specialist. The department has already seen success from this programme of work and is planning the next steps which will be taken through our established governance mechanisms. In doing so, the department will consider the ongoing case for additional recovery action, including the value for money and any implications for available capacity in (for example) enforcement agencies.