Recommendation 20

The value of detected fraud in 2022/23 involving franchised providers totalled £2.2 million, 53% of the total £4.1 million fraud SLC identified.49 In our July 2023report on tackling fraud and corruption across government, we concluded that tackling fraud cannot be left to counter-fraud technical experts.50 We asked DfE whether it is taking fraud and abuse of student funding sufficiently seriously. DfE assured us that it sees fraud as a collective, as well as an individual, responsibility.51 Both DfE and SLC also emphasised that organisational culture is important, beyond individual organisations’ rigidly defined responsibilities.52 OfS added that, within the constraints of its current powers, it has been working collaboratively with DfE and SLC. DfE said that it had been helpful to get a broader understanding of where risk sits in the system, both for DfE itself and to play back to the sector so the system has a shared view of the issues.53