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The Department’s capability is split across multiple teams that function mostly independently, with siloed working,...

Conclusion
The Department’s capability is split across multiple teams that function mostly independently, with siloed working, duplication, unclear roles, and missed investigative opportunities contributing to weak outcomes and low financial returns on counter-fraud activity.63 The Department’s counter- fraud and police teams also use separate case management systems, limiting shared visibility of case progress and outcomes.64 This structure makes it difficult for the Department to ensure cases are routed to the right investigative body, to maintain consistent standards of investigation across business areas, or to obtain a complete and reliable picture of case progress and outcomes across its various systems.65 The NAO reported that this also means no part of the Department has the economies of scale needed to build and maintain specialist skills, such as digital forensics.66