Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to support victims of fraud.

This Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this devastating crime. This is why we will shortly publish a new strategy to address the threat of fraud.

Safeguarding victims will form a key pillar of the strategy. It will set out how more victims of authorised fraud will get their money back through legislation to enable the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) to require reimbursement by all payment service providers. HMG has already introduced measures in the Financial Services and Markets Bill (2022) to give the PSR the power to mandate reimbursement to victims of fraud.

To improve victim support, the Home Office is also working with City of London Police to expand the Action Fraud National Economic Crime Victim Care Unit (NECVCU) across England and Wales for victims whose cases are not investigated by the police. The NECVCU service aims to help victims cope and recover – including through advice on how to recover losses - and to significantly reduce the likelihood of repeat victimisation. The Home Office is working with City of London Police to deliver a nationwide rollout of NECVCU from 2023.

The Home Office has a total of 31 FTE to tackle fraud against businesses and individuals. The 2021 Spending Review allocated £400 million to tackling economic crime, including fraud. Over the next three years, close to £100m will be spent on tackling fraud. This is in addition to the funding that the Home Office commits each year to the National Economic Crime Centre in the NCA, and police forces, including over £15m each year to the City of London Police as the national lead force for fraud and the operator of the Action Fraud and National Fraud Intelligence Bureau services.