Public Sector Fraud Authority launched with £180m target for first year
The Government has launched the Public Sector Fraud Authority and set it a target of £180m of identified fraud benefits in its first year.
The authority will be made up of counter fraud and data experts, “using best-in-class tools and advanced analytics to help departments and public bodies protect public money”, the Cabinet Office said.
It will be supported by a cross sector Advisory Panel that will provide expert advice and help shape the strategic approach to public sector fraud prevention and reduction. The Advisory Panel will have a Chair, who will be announced in September.
The Cabinet Office said the authority, backed by £25m of new funding, would modernise the Government’s counter fraud response, “working with departments and public bodies to test their fraud defences, using leading practice and modern techniques, and then to help them put stronger safeguards in place”.
It suggested it would do this by:
- Agreeing ambitious counter fraud plans for departments and public bodies and reviewing progress
- Regularly and directly briefing Cabinet Ministers including HM Treasury and Cabinet Office on the latest fraud landscape
- Providing expert support to departments and public bodies about the fraud risks and threats they face, then help to design defences against them and test their effectiveness
- Building a new National Counter Fraud Data Analytics Service that will provide advanced data capabilities, such as social network analysis, to surface, fight and prevent fraud against taxpayers
- Enhancing the use of fraud intelligence across the public sector, and with other sectors, to combat specific threats.
Minister for Government Efficiency, Jacob Rees-Mogg, said: “Public sector fraud is not an attack on a single person, and so to many the pain feels less sharp than when directed at individuals. But fraud attacks on government are attacks on money earned by much put-upon taxpayers.
“They are an attack on the emergency services whose funding they deplete, similarly they steal money from infrastructure projects.”
The minister added: “As criminals develop more sophisticated tools, we too must adapt and modernise.
“So we’re attracting the brightest minds and equipping them with tools to detect, prevent and deter those who seek to steal money intended to fund vital public services.”
The £180m target is expected to be met in part by trying find and recover fraud linked to the Bounce Back Loan scheme.
Ahead of a permanently appointed head of the Authority, the organisation will be led by Mark Cheeseman OBE, an internationally recognised expert in public sector fraud.
