Officials tackling fraud have spoken about how they could use new powers ‘extensively’ to recover funds. The new law would allow investigators to demand bank statements and even directly withdraw owed sums from individuals’ accounts.
The new measures comes with the introduction of the draft Fraud, Error and Recovery Bill, which is sponsored by the DWP. The Government’s promotion of the bill has primarily focused on safeguarding against benefit fraud, such as among those receiving Universal Credit, but its scope extends beyond that. The legislation seeks to crack down on fraud to do with “public authorities” potentially encompassing many areas of the public sector.
NHS counter-fraud chief Alex Rothwell presented evidence to MPs recently, highlighting the potential benefits of the new bill for his sector. He drew attention to statistics showing a meagre 12% recovery rate in NHS fraud cases for the 2023/2024 period, saying: “There is a lot more value to be had. The bill will be incredibly helpful for us to recover more money from people who have been suspected of fraud.”
The head of anti-fraud emphasised the potential to tackle even minor cases with the new regulations, explaining: “When it comes to pursuing criminal justice outcomes in relatively low value cases – perhaps individuals who have taken £5,000 or £10,000, who have been exited through human resources processes or who have simply left the organisation – the bill gives us an incredible opportunity to recover more funds, and I think we would use it extensively.”
However, Mr Rothwell voiced concerns about the application of anti-fraud checks and who exactly would use them. He raised the concern: “We are increasingly seeing private sector providers providing NHS services, so how would that be exercised?”
He noted that fraud levels in the NHS had been consistent over the last five to seven years, but also highlighted the steps taken to enhance protections: “We have extensive provider assurance programmes that are recovering funds through what we classify as error.”
Looking ahead, he said: “I do not see any change in that climate necessarily. Opportunities to strengthen prevention, for us, are the most important factor to influence people’s decision making before they commit fraud.” The NHS counter-fraud authority has been asked for comment.
The new law will include a Eligibility Verification Measure, which would enable the DWP to require banks and other financial organisations to flag up accounts of those receiving benefits, to help make sure that individual claimants are entitled to what they get.
The DWP recently stated that these checks would initially concentrate on those receiving Universal Credit, Pension Credit and Employment and Support Allowance.