14
Accepted
The Digital Economy Act 2017 established a process through which government bodies can agree arrangements...
Conclusion
The Digital Economy Act 2017 established a process through which government bodies can agree arrangements to share data with one another. The NAO reported that, as of July 2025, there had been 28 data-sharing pilot agreements set up through this process to tackle fraud, although only four had become business-as-usual processes.35 The NAO noted that government bodies found it difficult and time-consuming to conclude these data-sharing agreements. The PSFA had an ‘indicative timeline’ which suggested that setting up a data-sharing agreement should take around 20 weeks, but the NAO found that the process could take months or even years to negotiate and that the PSFA does not have a formal monitoring process to check whether this is achieved.36 The PSFA told us that, in response to these findings, it had produced a number of standard templates which it hopes will make the process quicker and simpler.37 It also noted that projects initiated through the Digital Economy Act had achieved benefits in excess of £200 million in reducing fraud.38
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the committee's observation. It commits to developing a central list of counter fraud data analytics controls by September 2026 and to improving data sharing processes under the Digital Economy Act, including a review of the Code of Practice.
Government Response
Accepted
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
4.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: September 2026 4.2 The government recognises the value in developing an accessible library of counter fraud controls that support public bodies to embed preventative and detective controls. 4.3 The PSFA’s Data and Analytics Team is developing a central list of counter fraud data analytics controls that includes guidance on different controls to help mitigate different fraud risks. For example, when and how data matching and machine learning techniques should be used. This library is being co-developed and tested with the International Public Sector Fraud Forum (IPSFF), ensuring it is informed by international best practice. The government will provide a progress update to the Committee in six months’ time. 4.4 The update will also include the ongoing actions to improve the process of data sharing through the powers enabled by the Digital Economy Act (DEA). Since the National Audit Office’s report in 2025, the DEA Secretariat has enacted a series of reforms to simplify the data sharing pilot process through the use of AI to automate proformas. Building on this, the update will set out the progress of the DEA fraud pilots, including those moving into business as usual, and the progress in undertaking a review of the DEA Code of Practice to ensure it facilitates simpler and more streamlined pilots.
Source
Committee
Public Accounts Committee
Report
75th Report - Government use of data analytics on error and fraud
27 Mar 2026
HC 891
Addressee Bodies
HM Treasury
Timeline
Recommendation age
0.3 yrs
Report published
27 Mar 2026