Why new Treasury rules on estimating fraud and error could help drive savings
07 Feb Fraud, Error Debt & Grants

Why new Treasury rules on estimating fraud and error could help drive savings

New Treasury guidance requires that departments report on the total level of loss across their programmes. Here's why it matters and how the NAO can help
by Joshua Reddaway
SR25: HMRC gets £1.7bn for big increase in compliance and debt management staff
12 Jun Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
SR25: HMRC gets £1.7bn for big increase in compliance and debt management staff
HMRC loses £47m in ‘organised crime’ attack on customer accounts
05 Jun Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
HMRC loses £47m in ‘organised crime’ attack on customer accounts
DWP taskforce hits £1bn savings milestone by spotting overpayments
27 May Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
DWP taskforce hits £1bn savings milestone by spotting overpayments
Covid and strikes to blame for drop in government fraud prosecutions, Chisholm says
13 Jun 2023 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
Covid and strikes to blame for drop in government fraud prosecutions, Chisholm says
Figures show marked falls in conviction rates for fraud cases referred by HMRC and DWP
Officials aren’t ‘reluctant’ to tackle fraud and corruption, Chisholm says
16 May 2023 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
Officials aren’t ‘reluctant’ to tackle fraud and corruption, Chisholm says
Cabinet Office perm sec tells MPs National Audit Office allegation is “not his experience”
Recovering £1.1bn in Covid debts will be ‘incredibly hard’, DBT perm sec admits
11 May 2023 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
Recovering £1.1bn in Covid debts will be ‘incredibly hard’, DBT perm sec admits
“Loosey-goosey” approach to first wave of business grants created a major obstacle to getting cash back, Davies tells MPs
Home Office rapped for ‘disappointing’ fraud failings
04 Apr 2023 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
Home Office rapped for ‘disappointing’ fraud failings
MPs voice litany of concerns over coordination of national efforts to combat major strand of crime
BEIS recovered just 1% of £1.1bn fraud in Covid support loans to small firms
24 Mar 2023 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
BEIS recovered just 1% of £1.1bn fraud in Covid support loans to small firms
Losses come on top of multi-billion-pound Bounce Back Loans hit, National Audit Office says
DLUHC’s local-audit backlog issues ‘could get worse’, watchdog warns
16 Mar 2023 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
DLUHC’s local-audit backlog issues ‘could get worse’, watchdog warns
MPs are told that dealing with delayed local-council accounts could be hampered by NHS changes
Government bolsters counter-fraud profession with skills-focused strategy
03 Mar 2023 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
Government bolsters counter-fraud profession with skills-focused strategy
Strategy aims to increase capability of government staff who work on protecting public services from fraud
Cabinet Office offers £120k for Public Sector Fraud Authority chief
06 Feb 2023 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
Cabinet Office offers £120k for Public Sector Fraud Authority chief
Department launches campaign to find permanent head for new organisation
National Audit Office boss: ‘We’re not a remote working organisation’
06 Dec 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
National Audit Office boss: ‘We’re not a remote working organisation’
Some organisations made "premature" decisions, "boxing themselves into a strategy that they might now be regretting", Gareth Davies says
DWP and HMRC get cash boost for 6,000 new staff to tackle fraud, error and tax dodging
17 Nov 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
DWP and HMRC get cash boost for 6,000 new staff to tackle fraud, error and tax dodging
Autumn Statement brings £300m for recruitment drive – but departments will be told to find savings elsewhere
Home Office ‘not leading effective cross-government strategy to tackle fraud’
15 Nov 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
Home Office ‘not leading effective cross-government strategy to tackle fraud’
Watchdog says department still does not understand full scale of the issue five years after it called for urgent action
DWP accused of passing the buck for 'unacceptably high' benefits fraud
09 Nov 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
DWP accused of passing the buck for 'unacceptably high' benefits fraud
PAC chair says DWP does not have plan to "get a grip" on the billions it is losing every year
Energy relief schemes put ‘very large’ amount of public money at risk, BEIS perm sec warns
26 Oct 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
Energy relief schemes put ‘very large’ amount of public money at risk, BEIS perm sec warns
Sarah Munby raises concerns over fraud and value for money in requests for ministerial directions
HMRC 'falling short' on efforts to recoup billions of Covid furlough fraud
14 Oct 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
HMRC 'falling short' on efforts to recoup billions of Covid furlough fraud
Spending watchdog urges government to allocate sufficient resources to tackle fraud and error
DHSC ‘accelerating disposal’ of £4bn stockpile of unusable PPE
11 Aug 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
DHSC ‘accelerating disposal’ of £4bn stockpile of unusable PPE
Department says waste firms hope to “recover” 15,000 pallets of products a month by the end of the year
Stepping up the fight: How a new public body aims to protect taxpayers’ money from fraud
03 Aug 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
Stepping up the fight: How a new public body aims to protect taxpayers’ money from fraud
The Public Sector Fraud Authority is set to change the way government departments and public bodies deal with the nation’s most common crime. Interim chief exec Mark Cheeseman answers CSW’s questions
'We’re here to lock up the bad guys': using forensics to foil fraudsters
02 Aug 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
'We’re here to lock up the bad guys': using forensics to foil fraudsters
A huge diversity of people and roles make up the modern civil service. Colin Smith started out as a police officer before moving into the private sector. Now he leads forensics at HMRC
Department for International Trade reports rise in fraud cases
02 Aug 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
Department for International Trade reports rise in fraud cases
Companies misusing DIT branding and misrepresenting their relationship with the department
DWP overpaid £8.5bn in benefits last year, annual accounts reveal
11 Jul 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
DWP overpaid £8.5bn in benefits last year, annual accounts reveal
National Audit Office dubs figure a “record level” and says it is £380m up on 2020-21
Public spending watchdog names eight ‘departments of concern’
26 May 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
Public spending watchdog names eight ‘departments of concern’
PPE stockpile and backlog woes help DHSC top PAC chair's problem list
BEIS 'offered open goal to fraudsters’ with Covid loan schemes
19 May 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
BEIS 'offered open goal to fraudsters’ with Covid loan schemes
Public Accounts Committee says the department officials failed to properly warn ministers of how severe potential fraud levels might be
HMRC to open 12th regional hub later this month
11 May 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
HMRC to open 12th regional hub later this month
Manchester will open next as part of a strategy the department says will save it more than £300m by 2026
‘We did what we could as quickly as we could’: Treasury perm sec rejects Covid fraud complacency claims
29 Apr 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
‘We did what we could as quickly as we could’: Treasury perm sec rejects Covid fraud complacency claims
Tom Scholar told the Treasury Committee officials put together loan schemes under "exceptional circumstances"
A third of departments set to miss annual report deadline, Treasury says
26 Apr 2022 Fraud, Error Debt & Grants
A third of departments set to miss annual report deadline, Treasury says
2021-22 reports will include statements on the impact of the pandemic on departmental goals plus a fraud-and-error analysis of Covid schemes