Speeches by Smith.

“Q Based on your experience and the work that you are already doing with the PSFA, are there any gaps in the Bill? Is there anything that you think is not there that would help us to tackle fraud against public authorities, or do you think that as it stands, it is about as complete as you would want it to be? John Smart…”

“That would be great. Joshua Reddaway: First, we should be clear: with most fraud, once the payment has gone, you are not going to get it back. I have a professional next to me who can talk to you about the challenges and the pursuit, but if you ask how much fraud is out there, the answer is a lot. If you add up all the…”

“Q How far do you think the increased time limit that would be in place for investigating fraud related to the covid-19 schemes will improve recovery rates? That is a slightly different topic, but do you think those longer time limits mean that we are more able to recover that money? Joshua Reddaway: In short, yes. Woul…”

“Q Do you have an opinion on that? Joshua Reddaway: I do not have a major opinion. I would ask whether you are comfortable with the oversight arrangements. One thing to point out is that this will be the closest thing to an anti-corruption unit that the Government have, with search powers. Are you happy with that being …”

“Having a separate organisation? Joshua Reddaway: Having a separate body.”

“Q51 This question is for you, Joshua. As you no doubt know, the Bill will allow the Public Sector Fraud Authority to be established as a separate body from the Cabinet Office. Do you think that is the right approach, and what benefits will it bring? Joshua Reddaway: I guess I am agnostic as to what is done, but the ben…”

“Q This question is on a slightly different tack. One of the powers in the Bill would disqualify a debtor from holding a driving licence. Is that likely to be an effective tool in getting people to engage and comply? Also, do you think the amount of time that that is for is long enough? It does not feel very long to me,…”

“Q Who should be consulted about putting together that code of conduct, or code of practice? Should the detail and the code of practice be included in the Bill? Anna Hall: We can talk about who should be consulted. Debt advice organisations and consumer groups are important, because they will be the ones that interact w…”

“Q If you have been in the room, you will have heard a lot about the code of practice already. The Bill requires the Secretary of State to lay before Parliament a code of practice on the new recovery powers. What would you like to see in that code of conduct? Anna Hall: A lot of the operational detail of how the powers …”

“Q I am particularly interested in the work that the NHS serious fraud team is already doing. What specific challenges do you currently face in investigating fraud and recovering money that the Bill will help? Do you think there are gaps in what is being proposed that could be tweaked or amended? Alex Rothwell: If we ta…”

“Q We just heard that serious organised fraud is considered to be only 10% of what is taken from the Department at the moment. Do you think that the measures to give DWP investigators power of entry, search and seizure are the right approach to tackling that 10% of serious organised fraud that exists? Helena Wood: Absol…”

“Q I will come in briefly, because I am conscious of the time. I was interested in what Professor Button was talking about—encouraging people to commit fraud, and the rise of online videos, TikTok and all that sort of thing—and I wonder whether you think that the Bill does enough to allow for going after people who choo…”

“In the same vein, I am a member of Plymouth city council.”

“Q What would get you to a place of feeling more comfortable with those safeguards? A provision that you can use the data once and then you cannot use it again? Where would you need to see movement in order to get to a place where you were comfortable with the safeguards? Jasleen Chaggar: Is that in relation to—”

“The cruelty and inhumanity of the Taliban should appal us all, and no doubt we all condemn the ban on medical training. The UK has provided significant aid to Afghanistan to support the health of women and babies, but with the Taliban now undermining women’s health as well as their rights, what will happen to these aid…”

“7. What steps his Department is taking to support women and girls’ rights in Afghanistan.”

“Q It would still be helpful to have something in writing, even in advance of each issue that we can scrutinise, because we are being asked to scrutinise something in its fullness without a level of detail. Anyway, I will leave that there, because it has been covered enough. Now the question that I was coming to, if I m…”

“Does the Minister not agree that, from 2010, the previous Government secured a 200,000 reduction in the number of pensioners in absolute poverty? I do not have details of what the figure might have been otherwise, but it is important to put that on the record, because nearly a quarter of a million is still a significan…”

“Yes, absolutely, and I think we see that right across the piece of DWP benefits. That is one reason why we think getting people into work, in particular, is so important. The lack of notice, particularly for those with savings, who are doing the right thing, but who are now having to choose whether to do work on their …”

“Sorry, I meant to say Wokingham. I had circled “Swansea West” in my notes; I was trying to be clever—forgive me. Anyway, I will go back to my notes; that would be much better. In the same way that the Government are coming after farmers, with the family farm tax, they have also gone after pensioners right across the co…”