Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many COVID-19 support schemes with total disbursements exceeding £100 million have been subject to a fraud and error measurement exercise by the Public Sector Fraud Authority; how many of those schemes have not undergone that exercise; and whether they will publish a list of all schemes assessed, including the methodology, timing and results of each exercise.

As set out in the 2021-22 Fraud Landscape Report, relevant departments reported conducting fraud and error measurement exercises covering higher risk spending both during and after the pandemic. These were undertaken in financial year 2021-22.

These fraud and error measurement exercises in six COVID-19 support schemes (those with the highest spend and assessed level of fraud risk) were reviewed by the Government Counter Fraud Centre of Expertise (now the Public Sector Fraud Authority, PSFA) against the Government Counter Fraud Function’s Fraud Loss Measurement Standard. Each of these six COVID-19 support schemes had expenditure totalling more than £100m each.

The PSFA concluded in 2022 that the fraud and error measurement exercises undertaken by these departments in respect of these six schemes did not meet the Government Counter Fraud Profession Fraud Loss Measurement Standard. The failure of the six measurements assessed by the PSFA does not mean the measurement exercises, and results, were without value.

The PSFA does not intend to publish a list of all schemes assessed, although a majority have already been published in the Annual Reports & Accounts of the respective departments.

The Covid Counter-Fraud Commissioner, who was appointed in December 2024, is also working closely with government departments and local authorities to tackle fraud linked to pandemic support schemes and recover public money. As set out in the Spring Statement, the government has accepted the Commissioner's early recommendation to improve incentives for departments to recover funds.