Failure of Home Office on fraud

LACKS A CLEAR PLAN AFTER 2017 REPORT

BY

THE Government is still failing to take a lead in tackling fraud despite an urgent warning five years ago.

It is unaware of the full scale of fraud threat to individuals and businesses, and has yet to develop a cross-government strategy to tackle it, according to the National Audit Office.

The Home Office is responsible for preventing and reducing fraud, in partnership with the National Crime Agency, City of London Police, and others. The NAO found in a 2017 Online Fraud report that government, law enforcement and industry had “overlooked” fraud, and demanded a response.

Fraud was the largest category of crime in England and Wales by June 2022, affecting 3.8 million. That is a 12% rise on March 2017, when 3.4 million were affected.

Fraud now accounts for 41% of all crimes against individuals, up from 30% five years ago. Yet the number of offences resulting in a charge or summons fell to 4,816 in 2022, down from 6,402 in 2017. The NAO found the Home Office has no reliable estimate of the cost of fraud to businesses. It also has a limited understanding of who commits fraud and those who enable it.

Government strategies have covered cyber security, anticorruption, and serious and organised crime, but it also works with a wide range of partner bodies and has limited influence over how many of them combat fraud.

NAO head Gareth Davies said: “The Home Office does not have the data it needs to understand the problem, and it is not able to measure the impact of its policies. It must be vigorous in leading a cross-government response informed by an understanding of what works.”

THREAT Home Office needs to take action