Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Accepted
Despite fraud being the most common crime in England and Wales, government’s communications with the...
Recommendation
Despite fraud being the most common crime in England and Wales, government’s communications with the public are still not effective. Fraud accounts for 41% of all crimes committed in England and Wales. Yet public recognition of the government’s fraud awareness campaigns is worryingly low. NCA identified 13 campaigns running at the time of our evidence session. Of these, most are recognised by less than 10% of the public. In 2017, we reported that a lack of co-ordination and consistency in education campaigns can confuse the public and reduce impact, and little progress has been made since then. Despite us raising concerns five years ago about the effectiveness of the flagship “Take Five” awareness campaign, the campaign is still not effective. Although the NCA has performed some evaluation, it is unable to measure the campaign’s overall impact. The NCA is analysing the experiences of victims of fraud to identify where it can best intervene to prevent fraud and it is working to develop an awareness campaign that resonates better than Take Five. Recommendation 2: The Department should set out, as part of its Treasury Minute response, how it will use the results of the National Crime Agency’s (NCA’s) research to improve the coherence and impact of its public awareness campaigns on fraud and how it will measure the impact of future campaigns.
Government Response Summary
The government will use research from the NECC in the NCA to improve the coherence and impact of public awareness campaigns on fraud, launch and evaluate a new cross-government campaign with clear metrics, produce a toolkit for consistent messaging, and establish a National Fraud Protect Network.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The government agrees with this recommendation. the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) in the National Crime Agency (NCA) to work across sectors to improve consistency in messaging and establish what communication interventions are most effective and amplify them. The team are undertaking audience insight and behavioural science research. This evidence base will ensure that campaigns can target the right audiences, with the right messages, in the most meaningful way. The research will allow the government to launch and evaluate a new cross government campaign, with clear baselines and metrics for measuring impact. The NECC are also working to improve consistency in messaging across stakeholders. They have produced a toolkit to provide organisations with guidance on how to align communications to provide more simple messages to the public. City of London Police are also setting up a National Fraud Protect Network. This will be a centrally co-ordinated policing network that will deliver protect advice across the country in line with the communications toolkit. The NECC additionally works with stakeholders to produce a forward look calendar, highlighting where campaigns are running simultaneously, enabling stakeholders to coordinate better.