Fraud and the Justice System

Justice Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 2 Dec 2021 Closed: 14 Sep 2023 Parliament page
This short inquiry sought to examine the ability of the Justice System to effectively prosecute fraud cases. The Committee was particularly interested in how the system is set up to tackle lower-level frauds, that are often not serious enough to be considered by the Serious Fraud Office but have a … Read more
20 Recommendations
23 Conclusions
1 Report
5 Letters
4 Events
Activity timeline 11 events
9 May
2023
Correspondence
11 Jan
2023
Report published
7 Dec
2022
Correspondence
23 Nov
2022
Correspondence
18 Oct
2022
Report published
17 May
2022
Correspondence
10 May
2022
Correspondence
20 Apr
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
22 Mar
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
15 Mar
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
22 Feb
2022
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Justice System HC 12 18 Oct 2022 43 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
17 results
Clear
2 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Fraud enforcement and prosecution must adapt to new online technologies.
As the ways in which frauds are being perpetrated change, making increased use of the online sphere and new technologies, the enforcement and prosecution of these crimes also needs to adapt to keep pace with the crimes being conducted.
Government Response
The government focused on victim support rather than adapting enforcement/prosecution, committing to expanding National Economic Crime Victim Care Units (NECVCU) across England and Wales from 2023, with specific force coverage targets by April 2023.
Ministry of Justice
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3 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Fraud's growing complexity poorly fits current Minister for Security's portfolio.
Fraud is a growing issue and one which does not sit naturally with the other elements of the Minister for Security and Borders extensive portfolio.
Government Response
The government described Action Fraud's 2022 campaign activities and stated it would set out further details of its approach in an upcoming fraud strategy, rather than addressing the ministerial portfolio.
Ministry of Justice
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4 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Dedicated Ministerial portfolio crucial for unified, accountable approach to tackling fraud.
Fraud and other forms of economic crime need to sit within a Ministerial portfolio that allows the postholder to prioritise this increasingly important area of work, and who can draw together parts of government and private sector companies to create … Read more
Government Response
The government deflected the recommendation about ministerial portfolio, committing instead £30 million over three years to upgrade Action Fraud, replacing it in 2024, and launching a new reporting tool and website in 2023.
Ministry of Justice
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7 Recommendation Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Set minimum standard of care for fraud victims across all police forces by 2023.
The Government should set a minimum standard of care that a victim of fraud can expect to receive when reporting a crime and ensure that all 43 police forces in England and Wales are working with victim care units to … Read more
Government Response
The government deflected the recommendation about victim care standards, acknowledging an issue regarding increasing compensation orders in confiscation proceedings and stating it would consider legislative reforms based on a Law Commission review.
Ministry of Justice
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8 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Victims experience significant difficulty reporting fraud due to unclear processes.
Many victims of fraud find it difficult to know how to report the crime. It needs to be made much clearer to victims how they can report a crime, as the current lack of clarity brings added distress to the … Read more
Government Response
The government deflected the recommendation about making reporting clearer to victims, explaining existing inter-organisational structures for tackling fraud and stating further details would be included in its upcoming Fraud Strategy.
Ministry of Justice
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9 Recommendation Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Increase advertising efforts for Action Fraud to raise public reporting awareness.
The Government should increase efforts in advertising Action Fraud to raise public awareness of how to report incidents of fraud.
Government Response
The government deflected the recommendation to increase Action Fraud advertising, discussing the Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR) and hoping a revised SPR will strengthen fraud capabilities, while also referencing available fraud data.
Ministry of Justice
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11 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Increased Action Fraud call centre staffing remains insufficient for adequate service.
Although the level of staffing at Action Fraud’s reporting call centre has increased from 75 to 95, this is clearly not sufficient to provide an adequate service to all those reporting a fraud.
Government Response
The government deflected the recommendation about Action Fraud call centre staffing, focusing instead on police professional training and development for fraud investigation, outlining existing training programs and support for the College of Policing.
Ministry of Justice
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12 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Action Fraud and successor services require sufficient staffing to support victims effectively.
Sufficient staffing needs to be put in place to ensure Action Fraud and its successor service can provide a high-quality service to victims, keeping them updated on the progress of their case and directing them to appropriate support services where … Read more
Government Response
The government did not commit to specific staffing for Action Fraud or its successor service's victim updates, instead highlighting broader efforts to improve overall court efficiency, recruit judges, and construct new courts, including one expected to focus on economic crime by 2026.
Ministry of Justice
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13 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Planned Action Fraud replacement focuses on technology, neglecting victim experience improvements.
We welcome the Government’s plans to replace Action Fraud with a new service in 2024; however, we understand from the Government’s evidence to our inquiry that the planned changes are focused on the technology underpinning the service, primarily improving the … Read more
Government Response
The government's response discussed reforms to the disclosure regime in the criminal justice system and the Attorney General's guidelines, rather than addressing improvements to the customer experience of Action Fraud's replacement service.
Ministry of Justice
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14 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Action Fraud's successor must prioritise victim experience with trained support staff.
While we welcome the Government’s commitment to replace Action Fraud with a new service better able to record and disseminate information about a crime, the service also needs to focus on victim experience, ensuring there are trained individuals staffing Action … Read more
Government Response
The government deflected the recommendation, stating that the independent Sentencing Council is responsible for sentencing guidelines and that the report has been shared with them, without addressing staffing or victim support for Action Fraud's successor service.
Ministry of Justice
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17 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Multiple police command chains for fraud cases create confusion and pass responsibility.
Within policing, there are various chains of command when it comes to tackling fraud cases, with investigations being conducted at a local level but with central bodies, namely the City of London Police and the National Economic Crime Centre, having … Read more
Government Response
The government's response addressed corporate criminal liability and the Online Safety Bill, which are unrelated to the committee's observation about confusion in policing chains of command for fraud cases.
Ministry of Justice
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18 Recommendation Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Ensure agreements define fraud responsibilities and support between police forces and central bodies.
The Government should ensure agreements are in place between the City of London Police, the National Economic Crime Centre, and local police forces to outline responsibilities in relation to fraud and also highlight the support available to local forces working … Read more
Government Response
The government's response focused on measures to facilitate data sharing between businesses for preventing economic crime through new legislation, rather than outlining agreements between policing bodies on responsibilities for fraud cases.
Ministry of Justice
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19 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Fraud lacks police investigative priority due to absence of performance accountability data.
Fraud is not an investigative priority for police forces, partly because it is not a crime type for which forces are held accountable for their performance. Fraud statistics are not included in local and regional performance data despite most of … Read more
Government Response
The government's response focused on raising public awareness on fraud through a forthcoming strategy and a new public engagement team, rather than addressing fraud as an investigative priority for police or the inclusion of fraud statistics in performance data.
Ministry of Justice
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20 Recommendation Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Fraud currently lacks Strategic Policing Requirement status and comprehensive performance data publication.
Fraud should be made a Strategic Policing Requirement to focus effort and resources on combatting this crime type. Additionally, performance data should be collected, monitored, and published at local and regional levels, as is done for other crime types, to … Read more
Government Response
For the Strategic Policing Requirement (SPR), the government acknowledges the need for stronger fraud capabilities and states ministers are currently considering a revised SPR. Regarding performance data, it points to existing collection and publication on the Action Fraud website and the NFIB dashboard.
Ministry of Justice
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28 Recommendation Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Review current disclosure guidelines to introduce specific guidance for digital fraud cases.
The Attorney General should review the current disclosure guidelines and consider whether there is merit in introducing specific guidance on disclosure in fraud cases with large quantities of digital material.
Government Response
The government acknowledges the complexity of disclosure, noting past reviews and revisions to guidelines. It states that future work may be needed for complex crime and confirms that the forthcoming fraud strategy will detail its aim to ensure the disclosure regime meets the needs of complex fraud cases.
Ministry of Justice
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30 Conclusion Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Current sentencing guidelines inadequately address emotional and psychological impact of fraud crimes.
The loss of a comparatively small amount of money can have a greater impact on one individual than the loss of a greater amount on another. The current sentencing guidelines do not recognise this and therefore overlook the emotional and … Read more
Government Response
The government states that the independent Sentencing Council is responsible for developing sentencing guidelines and confirms it has shared the report with the Office of the Sentencing Council for their consideration.
Ministry of Justice
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31 Recommendation Deferred
Fourth Report - Fraud and the Just…
Sentencing guidelines require amendment to consider emotional and psychological harms of fraud.
Sentencing guidelines should be amended to give greater consideration to the emotional and psychological harms caused by fraud crimes alongside the financial losses incurred. (Paragraph 122) Disrupting and preventing fraud
Government Response
The government states that the independent Sentencing Council is responsible for developing sentencing guidelines and confirms it has shared the report with them for their consideration.
Ministry of Justice
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Government Response AI assessment · 43 of 20 classified
Accepted 15
Accepted in Part 4
Acknowledged 6
Deferred 17
Not Addressed 1
Total 20 recs + 23 conclusions
Correspondence 5 letters
9 May 2023 To committee Letter from Rt Hon Tom Tugendhat MBE VR MP, Security Minister, dated 3 May 2023, on the publication of the Government’s Fraud Strategy
Parliament page
7 Dec 2022 From committee Letter to the Chairman of the Sentencing Council, dated 30 November 2022, on the Committee's report on Fraud and the Justice System
Parliament page
23 Nov 2022 To committee Letter from the Sentencing Council, dated 14 November 2022, on the Committe's report on Fraud and the Justice System
Parliament page
17 May 2022 To committee Letter from Damian Hinds MP, Minister for Security and Borders, dated 10 May 2022, on oral evidence follow up
Parliament page
10 May 2022 From committee Letter to Rt Hon Damian Hinds MP, Minister for Security and Borders, dated 28 April 2022, following oral evidence on fraud inquiry
Parliament page