Government Must Do More to Recoup Taxpayer Billions Lost to Fraud, Say MPs

A report into the government’s tackling of fraud, which has quadrupled since the COVID-19 pandemic, says more action needs to be taken to save taxpayer cash.

People walk past the Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben, at the Houses of Parliament in London, on July 15, 2022. Dominic Lipinski/PA Media

The government is “flying blind” on its exposure to fraud, which has quadrupled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, MPs have said.

The cross-party Public Accounts Committee (PAC) also said that while most of the £21 billion of taxpayers’ money lost to fraud during the pandemic is unlikely to be recovered, the government should be doing more to recoup what it can.