Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by his Department in each of the last three financial years.

The Northern Ireland Office reported no cases of fraud or amounts lost due to fraud or error in any of the last three financial years. This is disclosed as part of the Annual Report and Accounts available on GOV.UK.

The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-government-fraud-landscape-annual-report-2022.

This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system. (The 2020/21 Report was published in March 2023).

The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year, it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.