Recommendation 2

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 across government, including: the continued use of legacy systems; poor quality data; difficulties in sharing data; and a lack of digital skills in central government. However, while government knows what the barriers are, it lacks a detailed action plan to address them. DSIT published its delayed Roadmap for modern digital government in January 2026. 3 While this strategy sets out the government’s ambition to embrace AI and replace legacy IT systems, it contains little detail on how and when this will be done and nothing on how this will help tackle fraud and error losses or what DSIT’s responsibilities will be in this area. recommendation The Government Digital Service, Public Sector Fraud Authority and Government Finance Function should set out how they will work together to deliver the reduction in fraud losses that data analytics can achieve, with clear targets and milestones. This should include how government intends to move from a system of detecting and recovering fraud, to one more focused on preventing fraud in the first place.