Wilful neglect

The UK Government has promised a Fraud Action Plan before the year is out: it can't come soon enough - the House of Commons Justice Committee describes an "epidemic of fraud cases in England and Wales", now topping 40% of all recorded crime, in its latest report. The Economic Crime Plan 2019-22 estimated fraud costs to the UK at UK?4.7 billion annually, but that was before Covid-19: the latest National Audit Office report into employment support schemes reckons the loss to fraud and error was UK?4.5 billion. Peers are also seized of the issue: the House of Lords Fraud Act 2006 and Digital Fraud Committee notes, in a separate report, published on 12 November, that Office of National Statistics figures show fraud in the year to end of March 2022 to be 25% higher than for the year to end of March 2020.

Timon Molloy (timon.molloy@informa.com), Editor

The UK Government has promised a Fraud Action Plan before the year is out: it can't come soon enough - the House of Commons Justice Committee describes an "epidemic of fraud cases in England and Wales", now topping 40% of all recorded crime, in its latest report. [1] The Economic Crime Plan 2019-22 estimated fraud costs to the UK at UK?4.7 billion annually, but that was before Covid-19: the latest National Audit Office report into employment support schemes reckons the loss to fraud and error was UK?4.5 billion. [2] Peers are also seized of the issue: the House of Lords Fraud Act 2006 and Digital Fraud Committee notes, in a separate report, published on 12 November [2022] [3], that Office of National Statistics figures show fraud in the year to end of March 2022 to be 25% higher than for the year to end of March 2020.