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1682981

registered interest
date	17/01/2024
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the total value of fraudulent claims under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme; and how much and what proportion of those claims the Government has recovered as of 17 January 2024.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	9999
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2024 answer text <p>Information on His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs estimates regarding the rate of error and fraud for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the other COVID-19 support schemes administered by HMRC is available at the following link : <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Fmeasuring-error-and-fraud-in-the-covid-19-schemes%2Ferror-and-fraud-in-the-covid-19-schemes-methodology-and-approach-an-update-for-2023&amp;data=05%7C02%7Crobert.otira%40hmrc.gov.uk%7Cf1010a9576f84ddc0f5408dc1c0fbf0a%7Cac52f73cfd1a4a9a8e7a4a248f3139e1%7C0%7C0%7C638416101163309920%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=atG3uQfmIDS4o1J5VcvtQffFI05BawZB%2FuIuBsXlslU%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/measuring-error-and-fraud-in-the-covid-19-schemes/error-and-fraud-in-the-covid-19-schemes-methodology-and-approach-an-update-for-2023</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Information regarding HMRC’s compliance activity in the COVID-19 support schemes is available at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/42603/documents/211751/default/" target="_blank">committees.parliament.uk/publications/42603/documents/211751/default/</a></p> answering member constituency Mid Worcestershire answering member printed Nigel Huddleston question first answered 24/01/2024 12:05:06 answering member 4407 label Biography information for Nigel Huddleston
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1660113

registered interest
date	12/09/2023
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have been prosecuted for fraud relating to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme as of 12 September 2023.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	198998
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2023 answer text <p>Ongoing criminal investigation activity by HMRC against the covid support schemes has been reported in HMRC’s annual report and accounts 2022-23, which can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-to-2023. This ongoing activity has yet to be concluded within the criminal justice system and is subject to those timescales.</p><p>As of 12 September 2023, there has been one prosecution resulting in a conviction for fraud related to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 20/09/2023 09:30:48 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1462537

registered interest
date	12/05/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many allegations of fraud in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme from whistleblowers HMRC has (a) received, (b) investigated and (c) concluded were fraudulent as of 12 May 2022.
tabling member constituency	Erith and Thamesmead
tabling member printed	Abena Oppong-Asare
uin	1368
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2022 answer text <p>HMRC does not categorise intelligence reports, including allegations received from whistle-blowers, by fraud or other non-compliant behaviours and so is unable to provide the information requested.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 17/05/2022 15:21:54 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4820 label Biography information for Abena Oppong-Asare

1419552

registered interest
date	03/02/2022
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many enquiries HMRC has made as part of its random enquiry programme to investigate fraud in the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme; and how much money has been through that programme.
tabling member constituency	Erith and Thamesmead
tabling member printed	Abena Oppong-Asare
uin	117910
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2022 answer text <p>HMRC are taking action to tackle fraudulent behaviour. Anyone who keeps grant money despite knowing they were not entitled to it, faces having to repay up to double the amount they received, plus interest, and potentially criminal prosecution.</p><p> </p><p>The Government has invested £100 million in the Taxpayer Protection Taskforce up to 2022-23. They are expected to undertake 30,000 interventions and recover between £800 million and £1 billion.</p><p> </p><p>All claims are risk assessed and considered for further one-to-one intervention where necessary. Along with gaining operational data from completed compliance interventions, HMRC are also conducting a random enquiry programme into Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) claims to test the error and fraud rate in the general population. Cases are selected at random and there may be no obvious risk present.</p><p> </p><p>Random enquiry programmes are a part of the methodology employed by HMRC to develop the estimates of error and fraud. Therefore, providing this data in isolation does not give an accurate representation of compliance efforts on the CJRS.</p><p> </p><p>Data from the random enquiry programme along with details of CJRS compliance interventions will enable HMRC to publish new and updated error and fraud estimates in their Annual Reports and Accounts and accompanying technical note, which is expected in July 2022.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 08/02/2022 12:17:07 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4820 label Biography information for Abena Oppong-Asare

1352814

registered interest
date	06/09/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many calls were made to the helpline established to report instances of potential fraud regarding the furlough scheme in the last twelve months; and how many of those calls related to cases in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.
tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
uin	43396
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2021 answer text <p>There are two hotlines that the public can use to contact HMRC to report potential fraud. The first (0800 788 887) is a dedicated HMRC line and the second, the COVID Fraud Hotline (0800 587 5030) is a Government line, in conjunction with Crimestoppers, which was launched in October 2020.</p><p>HMRC are unable to provide the breakdown requested within the timeframe given to respond. However, HMRC are able to provide the total number of calls received about the furlough scheme over the last 12 months from 01/09/2020 to 31/08/2021:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Hotline</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Calls received</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Crimestoppers</p></td><td><p>73</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>HMRC line</p></td><td><p>19681</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>TOTAL </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>19754</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 09/09/2021 13:47:37 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1340239

registered interest
date	25/06/2021
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been for fraudulent use of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
uin	22225
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2021 answer text <p>To date there have been no prosecutions or convictions for fraudulent use of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). HMRC have made arrests in relation to the CJRS, with the first coming just two months after the scheme was launched. These cases are complex and will take time to investigate thoroughly in order to present to the relevant prosecuting authorities across the United Kingdom for consideration of charge and prosecution.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 30/06/2021 15:04:58 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1255943

registered interest
date	26/11/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will launch an investigation into the estimated £3.5 billion fraudulent claims to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
tabling member constituency	Midlothian
tabling member printed	Owen Thompson
uin	121308
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/12/2020 answer text <p>The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme forms part of a collective national effort to protect people’s jobs. Fraudulent claims put at risk the provision of public services and the protection of livelihoods. This could include employers claiming on an employee’s behalf and not then paying them what they are entitled to, asking employees to do work while on furlough, or making a backdated claim that includes times when workers were working.</p><p>Compliance investigations are now under way. HMRC estimated that CJRS error and fraud could be between 5-10%. The evidence needed to be sure of the actual levels will not be available until HMRC have conducted a sufficient number of compliance investigations. These investigations could carry on for the next two years, so a full and robust error and fraud estimate will not be available until 2022.</p><p>Employees can play a vital role by reporting fraudulent claims to HMRC, via their online fraud reporting tool: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/customs-excise-and-vat-fraud-reporting. HMRC are checking claims made through this scheme. Payments may be withheld or need to be repaid in full to HMRC if the claim is based on dishonest or inaccurate information or found to be fraudulent.</p><p>HMRC have made clear that they will not hesitate to act on reports of abuse and the first arrest made in relation to CJRS fraud was on 8 July.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 04/12/2020 14:12:09 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4482 label Biography information for Owen Thompson

1232205

registered interest
date	08/09/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Fraud
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of fraud that has taken place in relation to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme; and what action they are taking in response.
tabling member printed	Baroness Kennedy of Cradley
uin	HL7936
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2020 answer text <p>Using the very limited useful evidence available at the time from labour market programmes and HMRC’s knowledge of the characteristics of organised fraud, HMRC’s early view of the level of error and fraud on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) is that it could range from five to ten per cent. This analysis has been used to help HMRC to design the schemes and calibrate their compliance work.</p><p> </p><p>Following the granting of Royal Assent for the Finance Act on 22 July, HMRC now have the legal powers to carry out investigations into suspected CJRS fraud. Before then, HMRC carried out more than 5,000 targeted calls to high-risk cases, to reduce the chance of further error and make clear that HMRC would be investigating excessive claims.</p><p> </p><p>The Finance Act gives employers a 90-day window to correct claims. HMRC are writing to every employer where they have concerns from the data HMRC hold that they may have overclaimed. By the end of November, HMRC will have written to about 27,000 people prompting them to use the opportunity to self-correct.</p><p> </p><p>Starting this month, HMRC will also conduct up to 10,000 one-to-one interventions. This will include cases where HMRC have received information through their fraud hotlines. HMRC’s priorities are to support those correcting a genuine error, while taking action against those who have deliberately sought to abuse the scheme.</p> answering member printed Lord Agnew of Oulton question first answered 22/09/2020 11:08:23 answering member 4689 label Biography information for Lord Agnew of Oulton
tabling member	4303 label Biography information for Baroness Kennedy of Cradley

1231533

registered interest
date	04/09/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many companies have been investigated for (a) employees continuing to work while placed on furlough and (b) other instances of misuse of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	Carla Lockhart
uin	85127
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2020 answer text <p>HMRC were not legally allowed to carry out investigations into suspected CJRS fraud until the Finance Bill was granted Royal Assent. Before then, HMRC carried out more than 5,000 targeted calls to high-risk cases, in order to reduce the chance of further error and make clear that HMRC would be investigating excessive claims.</p><p>The Finance Act was granted Royal Assent on 22 July. The Finance Act gives employers a 90-day window to correct claims. HMRC are writing to every employer where HMRC have clear evidence that they may have overclaimed from the data HMRC hold. By the end of November, HMRC will have written to about 27,000 people prompting them to use the opportunity to self-correct. Starting this month, HMRC will also conduct up to 10,000 one-to-one interventions. This will include cases where HMRC have received information through their fraud hotlines. HMRC’s priorities are to support those correcting a genuine error, while taking action against those who have deliberately sought to abuse the scheme</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 10/09/2020 11:08:38 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4857 label Biography information for Carla Lockhart

1231536

registered interest
date	04/09/2020
answering body	Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many reports have been made of fraudulent abuse of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme through HMRC’s online reporting form.
tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
tabling member printed	Carla Lockhart
uin	85128
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2020 answer text <p>To date, HMRC have received about 8,000 reports via their online and telephone fraud reporting services.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 09/09/2020 15:24:38 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	4857 label Biography information for Carla Lockhart