Source · National Audit Office

Progress combatting fraud

This study assesses the effectiveness of the government’s activity to combat fraud

Published: 15 Nov 2022 Recommendations: 4 Type: Value for Money NAO confirmed: 4 Department: Home Office
Dept: Home Office Topics: Fraud and errorMoney and tax nao.org.uk → PDF →

Recommendations

4 items
3 accepted 1 partially accepted 4 implemented

Recommendation 1

Addressee: Home Office · Source location: Page 11, paragraph 14, point a

Complete and publish its strategy for tackling fraud as soon as possible, ensuring that this sets out:
? what outcomes it is seeking to achieve and by when it is seeking to achieve them; and
? a system-level plan for achieving the desired outcomes, underpinned by specific objectives and actions that are attributed to individual delivery partners and informed by an understanding of the resources they are able to deploy and the barriers they face

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · 30/04/2023 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 2

Addressee: Home Office · Source location: Page 11, paragraph 14, point b

Put in place the arrangements necessary to measure progress and to reprioritise and adapt its strategy, including by:
? producing an up-to-date measure of the cost of fraud to individuals and businesses, and updating this sufficiently frequently, to allow it to measure the impact of its actions;
? developing and publishing an evaluation strategy that covers all strands of activity and, where possible, seeks to control for the wider factors that may affect outcomes; and
? embedding its new governance arrangements to ensure that they are understood by all partners and operating effectively to monitor progress and hold delivery partners to account

Response position: Partially accepted

Delivery: Implemented · 31/12/2024 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 3

Addressee: Home Office · Source location: Page 11, paragraph 14, point c

Build on the research undertaken by the National Economic Crime Centre to review and align the range of existing communication strategies so that partners are presenting coherent and targeted messages to businesses
and individuals about how to protect themselves from fraud.

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q4 2024 · Confirmed by NAO

Recommendation 4

Addressee: Home Office · Source location: Page 11, paragraph 14, point d

Build on its early work with international partners to:
? strengthen its understanding of the international response to tackling fraud; and
? establish the relationships necessary to work effectively with overseas partners to address the threat that fraud poses"

Response position: Accepted

Delivery: Implemented · Q2 2024 · Confirmed by NAO

Public Accounts Committee follow-up

1 report

The Public Accounts Committee examined this NAO report and published its own recommendations. The government responds to PAC recommendations via Treasury Minutes.