Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Fraud

Monday 22 May 2023 · 8 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 5 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government launched a strategy to tackle fraud and measures in the Online Safety Bill and Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill.
  • Minister committed to addressing the issue of companies profiting from fraud without contributing to victim reimbursement.
  • Nationwide economic crime victim care unit is being rolled out to assist victims not investigated by the police.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Martin Vickers Con Brigg and Immingham
Crime & Law Enforcement Benefits & Welfare
Context

No specific incident is mentioned, but the question addresses a general concern about tackling fraud.

Question

What steps her Department is taking to tackle fraud. The government has launched several strategies and bills to combat online and economic crime. However, there are concerns over implementation and effectiveness.

Answer from Thomas Tugendhat

We recently launched our strategy to tackle fraud, alongside measures in the Online Safety Bill that will require companies to prevent fraud and measures in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill to hold companies to account for fraud committed by their employees. We are also working with tech companies to agree other measures and improving the support we give to victims.

Answered
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Q2 Nigel Mills Con
Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

80% of fraud starts online, with tech companies contributing significantly to the problem but not financially supporting victims.

Question

We know that 80% of fraud starts online, and 18% comes from the tech companies that the Minister talked about. Yet they do not contribute anything to reimbursing the victims of fraud despite effectively profiting from causing it. Is it not time that we considered asking them to contribute towards reimbursing some of the losses?

Answer from Thomas Tugendhat

My hon. Friend is raising questions that we have looked at closely in the fraud strategy, and he is absolutely right to highlight the disparity between those who are causing and those who are paying. This is a conversation that we have been having, and I look forward to identifying some areas soon for further discussion.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Financial contribution from tech companies

How: Looking At This

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Q3 Gagan Mohindra Con South West Hertfordshire
Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

A case was presented where an elderly person lost their life savings due to fraud, highlighting the need for better protection of vulnerable individuals.

Question

At my surgery in Sarratt last month I met Catherine, whose father was defrauded out of thousands after taking a call from someone he thought worked for Virgin Media. Can the Minister tell the House what he is doing to stop vulnerable people being targeted by fraudsters?

Answer from Thomas Tugendhat

We are rolling out the nationwide economic crime victim care unit across England and Wales, for victims whose cases are not investigated by the police. This group will help victims to recover from fraud and cyber-crime, and will significantly reduce the likelihood of repeat victimisation.

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Q4 Martin Vickers Con Brigg and Immingham
Crime & Law Enforcement Mental Health
Context

Concerns about the low priority given to fraud cases, especially those involving elderly individuals losing their life savings.

Question

I have experienced a number of constituency cases where elderly people were robbed of their life savings and there was a feeling that insufficient priority was being given to this issue. Will the Minister give an assurance that there will be a renewed focus on dealing with these scams, which destroy people's lives?

Answer from Thomas Tugendhat

I can absolutely give that commitment. These scams are not victimless; the connection to serious mental health issues is clear, and many individuals suffer greatly as a result.

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Q5 Seema Malhotra Labour (Co-op) Feltham and Heston
Policing & Resources Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

Concerns about the low number of fraud cases being investigated and prosecuted.

Question

Fraud accounts for almost half of crime, yet barely any are investigated and less than 0.1% make it to court. Hardly anything seems to be done to upgrade police technology and practice to help deal with this issue. What are the Government doing that will make a difference?

Answer from Thomas Tugendhat

We launched our new fraud strategy, which includes 400 officers in the national fraud squad and increased resources of £400 million. This work has already started, focusing on the significant amount of crime that is not here but abroad.

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Q6 Clive Efford Lab Eltham and Chislehurst
Crime & Law Enforcement Justice & Courts
Context

Concerns about the low number of fraud cases making it to court.

Question

There were 3.7 million instances of fraud last year, but only 0.1% of cases make it to court. Will the Minister say why this is?

Answer from Thomas Tugendhat

We are working on that challenge with the Ministry of Justice. Often, many crimes are committed abroad or not followed up, and sometimes people are embarrassed to report them. Collecting evidence is also difficult, which is why we have launched a new national fraud squad to help police forces across the country.

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Q7 Emma Hardy Lab Kingston upon Hull West and Haltemprice
Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

A former anti-fraud Minister resigned due to concerns over billions lost in covid fraud payments. There are questions about changes made since then.

Question

Just over a year ago, the anti-fraud Minister Lord Agnew resigned in anger at the billions being lost and written off in covid fraud payments. Can the Minister tell us what has changed such as the amount of money in covid fraud payments recovered or the attitude of the Treasury?

Answer from Thomas Tugendhat

This Government take fraud seriously. We have just worked up a national fraud strategy for the first time in many years, with money and commitment, now having officers behind it to ensure that fraud reduces alongside other areas of crime.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific changes made regarding recovery of covid fraud payments

How: We Take This Seriously

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Q8 Naseem Shah Lab Bradford West
Crime & Law Enforcement
Context

According to government reports, fraud is now the most common crime in the UK, costing almost £7 billion annually. The number of victims has increased significantly during the cost of living crisis.

Question

According to the Government, fraud is now the most common crime in the UK, costing almost £7 billion a year, with one in 15 people falling victim. The number of victims has skyrocketed amid the cost of living crisis, and victims are left without hope. Police forces up and down the country are crying out for resources to tackle the ever growing and advancing ways in which criminals exploit people to commit fraud. If the Government care and are serious about fraud and its victims, why do Ministers persistently exclude fraud from crime statistics?

Answer from Thomas Tugendhat

That is a slightly strange question, because fraud is in the Crime Survey of England and Wales, so I simply do not understand which surveys the hon. Lady is looking at. She may be thinking of the crime surveys before 2010, which are hard to compare because Labour did not count fraud—but we do.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The specific reason for excluding fraud from crime statistics was not addressed.

How: That Is A Slightly Strange Question

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