Recommendation 26

Government’s response to the pandemic has exposed the taxpayer to substantial financial risks from fraud and error. Government is likely to better understand the incidence of fraudulent receipt of COVID-19 funds over the medium-term as fraud estimates crystallise.44 The Committee has discussed the issue in some detail in its examination of the Bounce Back Loans Scheme which was deemed to be at particularly high risk of fraud. HM Treasury acknowledged that some elements presently in the Cost Tracker represent undetected fraud. It confirmed that the BEIS accounts will be the primary tracker for this particular scheme.45 To preserve the learning from cases of fraud across government, both related to COVID spending and elsewhere, HM Treasury created the Public Sector Fraud Authority in 2022.46