Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what timetable her Department has set for completing consideration of the proposals of the Independent Review of Fraud; how she will monitor the effectiveness of the Fraud Strategy 2026–2029 in reducing online fraud and scams; and what powers will be conferred on the proposed Online Crime Centre to tackle online fraud.

The Government has received the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offence’s second report, Fraud in the Digital Age, and will publish it this in due course, alongside a statement of proposals progressed.

Effectiveness of the Fraud Strategy 2026-2028 will be tracked through a governance and metrics framework, refined with delivery partners through better data, a theory of change, and targeted evaluations. We will also work with industry to set metrics on the prevalence of fraud on online platforms and on platforms’ performance in removing or blocking such activity.

Backed by over £30m, the Online Crime Centre will bring together government, law enforcement, the intelligence community and industry to tackle online fraud to disrupt at scale, it will draw on existing enforcement powers.