Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to increase the conviction rate for fraud in circumstances where fraud is not the primary offence.

Fraud is a despicable crime and those who commit it should be brought to justice. The Government recognises that to improve conviction rates, whether it is a primary offence or not, there needs to be an increased pipeline of cases under investigation.

Following His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service’s (HMICFRS) inspection into the police response to fraud in 2019, a number of improvements have been put in place across several areas of the law enforcement response. These were outlined in a follow up review from the HMICFRS in August 2021.

However, we know that more needs to be done to improve the capacity and capability to respond effectively to fraud. The Home Office continues to work with partners across all departments, forces and organisations to act on all recommendations made by the HMICFRS and to improve the response at all levels.