Found: highlighted evidence that the DWP was making efforts, and since then the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Strathclyde, Chair of the Constitution Committee to Baroness Sherlock regarding the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: on 22nd January the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery Bill

Found: on 22nd January the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery Bill

Found: facilitate this, we further propose that measures similar to those included in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Public Bill Committees Resolved, That the Committee appoint Members to the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many public sector contracts have been subject to fraud investigations in each year since 2019.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Information pertaining to the amount of public sector contracts subject to fraud investigations is not held by the Cabinet Office. This information would be held by relevant law enforcement authorities, or specific government departments, that carried out investigation.

Tackling public sector fraud is a priority for this government. This government is taking strong action to reduce public sector fraud - ensuring that as much public money as possible goes to delivering vital public services.

That’s why the government introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill as part of the biggest fraud crackdown in a generation. The measures in the Bill will give us more tools to combat fraud, recover public money and allow the government to investigate fraud.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority is also driving forward the development of the counter fraud approach across government, working with departments and public bodies to reduce the impact of fraud and build expert counter fraud services.

The 2024 Autumn Budget and 2025 Spring Statement also announced the most significant package of measures to tackle fraud and error in recent history. The 2025 Spending Review highlighted that Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts these measures to deliver £9.6 billion in savings by 2030.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reduce fraud in the public sector.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Tackling public sector fraud is a priority for this government.

That’s why the government introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill in January as part of the biggest fraud crackdown in a generation. The measures in the Bill will give us more tools to combat fraud, recover public money and allow the government to investigate fraud.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) is also developing artificial intelligence tools to tackle fraud - and is expected to surpass the PSFA’s £250m 2024-25 audited benefits target from these services.

Furthermore, at the request of the Secretary of State for Education to address fraud in student loans, the PSFA is working to coordinate the government's response to fraud within student loans by providing direct expertise understand the scale of the threat posed by fraudsters, identify the most effective immediate disruption activities and how to prevent this kind of fraud in the future.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in the debate on the Report stage of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill on 29 April 2025, Official Report, column 236, how many sickfluencers have been prosecuted under the (a) Fraud Act 2006 and (b) Serious Crime Act 2007.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department does not use the term ‘sickfluencer’ as a defined term and, as such, does not collect data under this description. Furthermore, the Department is not a prosecuting body; DWP’s role is to refer cases for consideration of prosecution to the appropriate prosecuting authority who are then responsible for taking the case forward, including determining the most appropriate offences to prosecute under.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 12 April 2025 to Question HL6032 on Arm’s Length Bodies, whether the Public Sector Fraud Authority is in the process of being set up.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The government introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill in January, giving us more tools to combat fraud, allowing the government to investigate fraud and recover public money.

The Bill also provides the potential for the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) to become an arm’s-length statutory body in the future, providing flexibility as to how the government conducts their future counter fraud activities. It was assessed that it would be disproportionate to establish PSFA as one at this current time.

On 6 April, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced a full review of all arm’s length bodies to ensure their existence can be strongly justified against key principles. Any future decision to set up any new ALBs would need to demonstrate alignment with these principles and follow the joint HMT and Cabinet Office approval process for new bodies.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to her Department's consultation Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, updated 7 April 2025, how would the proposals set out in the green paper interact with the provisions on bank accounts in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The reforms in the Green Paper are still the subject of consultation and will undergo further development once responses have been considered.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reduce fraud in the public sector.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

In January, the government introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill as part of the biggest fraud crackdown in a generation. The measures in the Bill will give us more tools to combat fraud, recover public money and allow the government to investigate fraud.

The Public Sector Fraud Authority is also developing artificial intelligence tools to tackle fraud - and is expected to surpass the PSFA’s £250m 2024-25 audited benefits target from these services.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to publish an updated impact assessment on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department published its Impact Assessment with the introduction of this Bill on the 22^nd January 2025. It can be found here: ImpactAssessment.pdf.

The Department has committed to produce a further Impact Assessment for the Eligibility Verification Measure within 12 months of Royal Assent of the Bill. There are no plans to provide a further Impact Assessment of other measures in the Bill beyond usual procedures.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions she has had with Big Brother Watch on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department has extensively engaged a range of stakeholders on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

This includes holding regular forums, which both Disability Rights UK and Big Brother Watch have attended, to provide stakeholders with the latest information on Bill measures and invite questions and feedback.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has had recent discussions with Disability Rights UK on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Department has extensively engaged a range of stakeholders on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

This includes holding regular forums, which both Disability Rights UK and Big Brother Watch have attended, to provide stakeholders with the latest information on Bill measures and invite questions and feedback.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the additional number of benefits recipients who will be subject to eligibility verification notices under the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill as a result of her welfare reforms.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The reforms in the Green Paper are still the subject of consultation and will undergo further development once responses have been considered.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times the Public Sector Fraud Authority has applied to the county court for a recovery order for the assets of people found to have committed fraud in each of the last five years.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) works with government departments and public bodies to understand and reduce the impact of fraud and error against the public sector. The PSFA is expected to surpass its 2024-25 target of recovering and preventing £250m of fraud - ensuring public money is out of the hands of fraudsters.

Since the Authority’s launch in 2022, the PSFA has started the pilot of the new Enforcement Unit for government, which began fraud investigations in May 2024.The Enforcement Unit is actively investigating cases of fraud, and will seek to use relevant civil powers to recover funds stolen by fraudsters. To date, the PSFA has not applied to any county court for a recovery order regarding the assets of people found to have committed fraud.

This government is taking tough action to reduce public sector fraud. In January, we introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, giving us more tools to combat fraud, allowing government to investigate fraud, recover public money and sending fraudsters a clear message: you won’t get away with stealing public money.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Code of Practice in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill in protecting the (a) rights and (b) privacy of (i) vulnerable people and (ii) people living in poverty.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

As outlined in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, DWP will publish three Codes of Practice to sit alongside its Information Gathering, Debt Recovery and Eligibility Verification measures. These are in development and we are already engaging with key stakeholders on the principles of the Codes. There will be public consultations to provide an opportunity for all interested parties to review and respond.

It is important to note these Codes of Practice are not legislation and so will not contain statutory provision themselves. They offer guidance and guidelines on how the Bill’s measures will be operationalised and detail the Bill’s practical application including the application of safeguards included in the Bill itself.

The Department is confident the Bill’s powers are compliant with the government’s duties under the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), including the right to private life under Article 8. The measures are justified, lawful and proportionate and the Departments’ detailed analysis on ECHR is set out in the published ECHR Memorandum, available here.

The Impact Assessment which accompanies this Bill can be found here.

The Bill includes safeguards to provide assurance the new powers are used proportionately and effectively, and in a way that protects vulnerable people and people living in poverty. More information can be found here: Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2025: factsheets - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria will be used to determine suspicious bank account activity that would result in the Department requiring access to the individuals bank account under the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

DWP’s information gathering powers may be used where there is a reasonable suspicion of fraud. In such cases the Department can issue an information notice, where necessary and proportionate, to any information holders who DWP believe hold relevant information, including banks. When gathered, this information can be used to either prove or disprove the allegation of fraud.

This is distinct from the new Eligibility Verification measure contained within the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, where banks and financial institutions will be required to share limited data with DWP on benefit-receiving account holders and accounts relating to specified benefits, where it suggests someone may be receiving an incorrect payment. For example, where a person is in receipt of Universal Credit and has savings over £16,000. This is done without any presumption of fraud.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reduce fraud in the public sector.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

This government is taking tough action to reduce public sector fraud.

In January, we introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill, giving us more tools to combat fraud, allowing government to investigate fraud, recover public money and sending fraudsters a clear message: you won’t get away with stealing public money.

The Bill was introduced on 22nd January, and is currently being examined at the Committee Stage.

Utilising emerging technology to counter fraud is vital. That’s why the Public Sector Fraud Authority uses advanced analytics and is developing artificial intelligence tools to help counter fraud experts better understand, prevent and detect fraud.

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill: HL Bill 96 of 2024–25

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill: HL Bill 96 of 2024–25

Found: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill 2024-25: Progress of the bill

Expand the surveillance powers in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill to include the bank accounts, investments and financial holdings of all MPs and members of the House of Lords.

Found: Expand the surveillance powers in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill to include

Found: In addition to this we have introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud Error and Recovery) Bill 11292

Found: In addition to this we have introduced the Public Authorities (Fraud Error and Recovery) Bill Department

Found: cell">Meeting as part of ongoing engagement on the measures in the forthcoming Public Authorities Fraud Error and Recovery Bill

Found: Expenditure totalling £4,500,000 under section A is subject to the passage of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Expenditure totalling £4,500,000 under section A is subject to the passage of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: further plans to strengthen our ability to reduce fraud and error through the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error, and Recovery) Bill, set to save £1.5 billion over the next

Found: Planning and Infrastructure Bill • Product Regulation and Metrology Bill • Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Government Legal Department Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 Case Study: Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: relating to occupational pensions (Department for Work and Pensions) • the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: includes direct action to tackle fraudsters through the introduction of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Leckie regarding questions raised during the Committee stage (fifth day) of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: statutory body, as discussed during the Committee stage (third day) of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Members regarding issues raised during the Committee Stage (third day) of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: United Kingdom, as discussed during the Committee Stage (fourth day) of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: reasonableness, as discussed during the Committee Stage (fourth day) of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill 25 June 2025 Consent granted Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill Consent recommended 25 June 2025 Consent granted Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill 12 March 2025 Consent recommended Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Committee regarding the Welsh Government's Legislative Consent Memoranda on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Chief Whip to the Chair regarding the Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Trefnydd and Chief Whip regarding the Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: report on the Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum (No.2) on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Committee to consider and report on the Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: SUPPLIMENTARY LEGISLATIVE CONSENT MEMORANDUM (MEMORANDUM NO 2) THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES (FRAUD, ERROR AND RECOVERY) BILL

Found: LEGISLATIVE CONSENT MEMORANDUM THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES (FRAUD, ERROR AND RECOVERY) BILL 1.

Found: Constitution Committee The Welsh Government’s Legislative Consent Memoranda on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES (FRAUD, ERROR AND RECOVERY) BILL SUPPLEMENTARY LEGISLATIVE CONSENT MEMORANDUM

Found: report on the Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum (No.3) on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: The Welsh Government’s Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: June 2025, in considering the Legislative Consent Memorandum (No. 3) on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill

Found: Supplementary Legislative Consent Memorandum (Memorandum No. 3) on the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill