By Ben Kerrigan-
UK MPs have raised concerns over the soaring levels of fraud and corruption that have quadrupled since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The cross-party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) expressed that the government is “flying blind” when it comes to its exposure to fraud, which has significantly increased during the crisis.
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In a report, the PAC criticized the current system of fraud assessment, asserting that it fails to identify the specific issues or public bodies most affected.
During the pandemic, approximately £21 billion of taxpayers’ money was lost to fraud, but the PAC believes that most of this sum is unlikely to be recovered.
The committee highlighted that on top of approximately £16.4 billion lost to tax and benefit fraud in the past year, the government could have lost up to £28.5 billion to fraud and error, without a clear understanding of where and how these losses occurred, according to estimates from the Public Sector Fraud Authority.
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This surge in fraudulent activities has damaged public confidence in the integrity of the government, causing the UK to slip from eighth to 18th place out of 180 countries in 2022 for perceived corruption levels, according to Transparency International.
To rebuild public trust, the PAC emphasized that Whitehall officials must demonstrate their commitment to tackling fraud by embedding counter-fraud measures into public services.
The committee expressed concern that only 6% of the UK’s public bodies can prove they are achieving the expected value for money from their counter-fraud work, with 27% not investing enough in it.
PAC Chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier urged senior government officials to take the issue seriously and address the worsening fraud problem. She emphasized that the risk of fraud and corruption is ever-present in public life and should be consistently recognized and prepared for as an ongoing risk.
Labour’s shadow attorney general, Emily Thornberry, criticized the government for its complacency, indifference, and inaction in addressing the fraud epidemic. She called for a comprehensive plan to combat fraud at every level, promising to track down and punish criminals responsible for fraud.
In response, a government spokesman stated that efforts are being made to overhaul the approach to tackling public sector fraud, with investments exceeding £900 million since 2021.
The government has also established the Public Sector Fraud Authority to strengthen fraud defenses across departments. In the past two years, the government claims to have recovered over £3.1 billion in fraud losses, including those related to Covid-19 schemes.
Measures include expanding the government’s counter-fraud profession, developing new technologies, and enhancing skills and training to protect the public purse further.
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