Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 21
21
Acknowledged
The Department told us it had included numbers in its Annual Report and Accounts for...
Conclusion
The Department told us it had included numbers in its Annual Report and Accounts for the savings from its efforts to reduce fraud and error. The Department’s 2021–22 Annual Report included an estimate for the impact of its activities to reduce fraud and error of £2 billion for 2021–22, but notes that this estimate is built up from a wide range of management information and modelling assumptions. The NAO reported that this savings estimate is experimental and requires further development before it can provide an appropriate framework for reporting the amount saved for the taxpayer and the cost- effectiveness of the Department’s activities. The Department told us that it will continue to develop “better, stronger metrics” to demonstrate the effectiveness of its counter-fraud activities.40 Transparency around the future use of data analytics in fraud prevention
Government Response Summary
The government published an estimate of £2 billion in savings from counter fraud efforts in the 2021-22 ARA and is committed to working with the NAO to ensure agreement on the framework for the 2022-23 ARA.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: 2022-23 Annual Report and Accounts 4.2 The department published an estimate for the first time in the 2021-22 Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) demonstrating savings of £2 billion achieved in 2021-22 through the department’s counter fraud function. The methodology that was developed to produce this estimate was the culmination of a substantial amount of work, including receiving assurance 19 from the Government Internal Audit Agency, and working with internal stakeholders, to improve the governance around the estimate and critically assess the methodology. 4.3 The department shared the methodology as part of the ARA and acknowledges that the NAO has yet to endorse this framework but is committed to working together ahead of the 2022-23 ARA to ensure this agreement is in place.