Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 22
22
Accepted
City of London Police acknowledged that having the mechanisms to work internationally is important to...
Conclusion
City of London Police acknowledged that having the mechanisms to work internationally is important to allow the government to work proactively to tackle fraud. However, the NCA was admitted that government “really do have a lot more to do” when it comes to building relationships with international partners.46 Government has done some work with individual countries, for example, the NCA told us it had worked with law enforcement agencies in India looking at investment fraud, and in Ghana and Nigeria looking at romance fraud. It told us that it was also working with Five Eyes, an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, America, and the UK.47 However, the National Audit Office report highlighted that the Department has limited understanding of the international response on fraud, or how the UK’s response compares with other countries.48 The NCA told us that it does not have the same forums for engaging with international partners on fraud as it does with some other crimes, such as money laundering and terrorist finance. It acknowledged that government needed to do more to work with international partners and to find a better means of multinational co-operation. However, investing more resource in this will not necessarily be straightforward. For example, City of London Police told us it was in the process of scaling back some of its work to build capability on tackling fraud overseas as it does not have sufficient resources to do this alongside upskilling police officers in the UK.49 44 Qq 88–89; Justice Committee, Fourth Report of Session 2022–23, Fraud and the Justice System, HC 12 45 Qq 39–41 46 Qq 90, 98 47 Q 40 48 C&AG’s Report, para 2.21 49 Qq 90, 99 Progress combatting fraud 17
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the Committee's recommendation to achieve a step change in the breadth and strength of its international relationships as part of its efforts to tackle fraud, with target implementation by Summer 2024, and a Home Secretary chaired Global Fraud Summit in 2024.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
7. PAC conclusion: The Department has not prioritised developing relationships with international criminal justice agencies. 7. PAC recommendation: The Department should set out, as part of its Treasury Minute response, how it will achieve a step change in the breadth and strength of its international relationships as part of its efforts to tackle fraud. 7.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: Summer 2024 7.2 The Fraud Strategy sets out how the UK will drive global action on fraud. The government will develop stronger partnerships with international partners to share best practice and work together to reduce fraud globally. 7.3 The government will work more closely with law enforcement, the private sector and the international community to further develop our evidence base and to drive forward greater intelligence and information sharing. This will support co-ordinated and targeted efforts to disrupt fraudsters before they can reach the UK public. 7.4 The government’s international work is already underway, and we have established an international working group to identify mutual areas of interest. This engagement will culminate in a Home Secretary chaired Global Fraud Summit in 2024 where we will aim to agree an international co-ordinated action plan to dismantle fraud networks.