Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill Report Stage: Amendment 11

What happened: The House of Commons voted on Amendment 11 to the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill during its Report Stage on 29 April 2025. The amendment, which sought to place additional safeguards or restrictions on the government's fraud recovery powers, was defeated by 238 votes to 85. The government's position, opposing the amendment, prevailed.

Why it matters: The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill creates new powers for government bodies to investigate and recover money lost to fraud and error in public spending. Amendment 11 sought to modify those powers by introducing additional due process protections or limits on how far the state can go in pursuing recovery. Its defeat means the bill's fraud recovery mechanisms remain in their original form, without the extra constraints the amendment's supporters argued were necessary to protect individuals from government overreach.

The politics: The vote revealed a clear divide, with Labour and Labour Co-operative MPs providing the bulk of the 238 Noes in support of the government's position. The Liberal Democrats were the largest opposition bloc in favour of the amendment, contributing 45 of the 85 Ayes, joined by the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the DUP, the Greens, and several independents. Notably, 12 Labour MPs and 1 Labour Co-operative MP voted against their own government. The Conservatives, who backed the bill at Second Reading in February 2025, were almost entirely absent from this division, with only one voting Aye and 115 not participating at all.