Last week the Government hosted the first ever Global Fraud Summit.

This brought together Ministers and senior representatives from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore and the Republic of Korea as well as the United Nations, European Union, Financial Action Task Force and INTERPOL to emphasise the need for international collaboration to tackle fraud.

We agreed an ambitious communiqué which sets out a new international framework to better understand and address the threat and keep our citizens safe.

We will continue to build upon these commitments whilst also engaging bilaterally with key countries to build capability and strengthen their ability to tackle and disrupt fraud before it reaches the UK.

The closest published data, on the nationalities of those who took ETS tests, is provided at:
https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/70089/html/.

At Point 109 (Annex D) is the closest match to the information requested.

The Home Office MP Account Management Team will contact you separately to discuss this request.

Tackling fraud and error is a key priority for the DWP, and every member of staff has a role to play and undertakes mandatory annual fraud and error training. The department’s approach to tackling fraud was set out in the fraud plan [Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)], which included the commitment to increase our counter fraud teams and create a new targeted case review capability.

The department’s annual report and accounts, published on 6 July 2023 [DWP annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)], shows how we are using our resource to tackle fraud and error.

Tackling fraud and error is a key priority for the DWP, and every member of staff has a role to play and undertakes mandatory annual fraud and error training. The department’s approach to tackling fraud was set out in the fraud plan [Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)], which included the commitment to increase our counter fraud teams and create a new targeted case review capability.

The department’s annual report and accounts, published on 6 July 2023 [DWP annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)], shows how we are using our resource to tackle fraud and error.

The Home Office does not publish ETS data as part of the Immigration Systems statistics.

For cases affected by ETS, decision makers must follow the current guidance published on 18 November 2020: Educational Testing Service (ETS): casework instructions (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Home Office does not publish ETS data for any of the last three years as part of the Immigration Systems statistics.

All cases affected by ETS must follow the current guidance published on 18 November 2020: Educational Testing Service (ETS): casework instructions (accessible version) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Government is working with industry to close the vulnerabilities in systems, processes and businesses that are exploited by fraudsters and ensure they have the necessary tools to protect themselves from fraudsters. This is why the Home Office will shortly be publishing a new strategy to address the threat of fraud.

Reforms in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill will also enable businesses to share information more easily for the purposes of preventing, investigating or detecting economic crime by disapplying civil liability for breaches of confidentiality for firms who share information to combat economic crime. This includes for the prevention of fraud. In parallel, reforms to GDPR via provisions in the Data Protection and Digital Identity Bill will provide a clearer legal basis for businesses sharing information for crime prevention purposes.

Tackling fraud requires a unified and co-ordinated response from government, law enforcement and the private sector to better protect the public and businesses from fraud, reduce the impact of fraud on victims, and increase the disruption and prosecution of fraudsters. This is why we will shortly publish a new strategy to address the threat of fraud.

The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, which is currently before Parliament will make it easier for businesses to process personal data in order to tackle all types of crime, including fraud and other types of economic crime. When the Bill is commenced, they will be able to rely on a new lawful ground of ‘recognised legitimate interests’ under the UK GDPR to process personal data for these purposes. Unlike the current legislation, this will not require businesses to do a detailed assessment of the potential impact of the processing on the rights of individuals, which may affect the speed at which intelligence information relating to suspected fraud is shared.

Reforms in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill will also enable businesses, in certain situations, to share information more easily for the purposes of preventing, investigating or detecting economic crime by disapplying civil liability for breaches of confidentiality for firms who share information to combat economic crime.

We introduced the Online Safety Bill to Parliament on 17 March. We have designed the Online Safety Bill to be proportionate and risk-based.

The Bill will ensure that people using the largest platforms and where there is greatest risk of harm are protected from scams, and ensure these services do not profit from illegal activity.

The Online Advertising Programme will build on this duty and examine the whole ecosystem to provide a holistic review of the regulatory framework.

We introduced the Online Safety Bill to Parliament on 17 March.

The duties on search engines reflect that they facilitate harm in a different way to user to user services. The duties on search engines are therefore designed to be proportionate and risk-based.

We have also launched a consultation on proposals for wider reform of online advertising regulations, including in relation to fraud.

As I said recently in the House in response to an urgent question, the Home Office is awaiting the findings of the upper tribunal presidential panel, who are currently considering the case known as RK/DK, which we hope will bring further clarity to the ETS TOEIC issue. Once we have received and digested the judgment we will announce our next steps.

Given that the judgment is believed to be fairly imminent, it makes eminent sense to wait for it and then announce our next steps fully taking into account what it says and what it concludes. As the right hon. Gentleman will be aware, given the passage of time we have already amended our guidance to make it clear that where a person’s right to a private and family life in the UK is relevant, the interception of a previous TOEIC test is not an invariable ground for refusal if they make an immigration application.

The Government are committed to tackling online fraud. That is why, later this year, we will be consulting on the online advertising programme, which is considering all options, including legislation, to tackle paid-for advertising online. Meanwhile, the draft online safety Bill, which is currently in prelegislative scrutiny, will address fraudulent user-generated content.

The right hon. Gentleman is right to raise a hugely important issue. I and this Government share his impatience to tackle it, but that is why we are talking, through the online advertising programme, about looking at every single option, whether it is to tackle user-generated content through one mechanism or, potentially, advertising through another. It is about getting that combination of measures right so that we can achieve the maximum possible effect.

Online fraud is in scope of the Online Safety Bill. This means that companies in scope of regulation will need to take action to tackle fraud, where it is facilitated through user-generated content or via search results.

Government is currently working with industry to remove the vulnerabilities that fraudsters exploit, with intelligence agencies to shut down known fraudulent infrastructure, and with law enforcement to identify and bring the most harmful offenders to justice. We are also working to ensure that the public have the advice and support they need.

We are continuing to explore additional legislative and non-legislative solutions to tackle fraud in the round. The Home Office is developing an ambitious Fraud Action Plan, which will be published after the 2021 Spending Review. The Online Advertising Programme, led by DCMS, will also consider further regulation of online advertising to reduce online fraud and we will be consulting on it later this year.

The Online Safety Bill will deliver the government’s manifesto commitment to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online while defending freedom of expression. The Bill’s key objectives are to protect users online and uphold users’ rights online.

With regard to protecting users, the Bill will focus on:

• tackling criminal content online, including fraud where this is facilitated through user-generated content;

• protecting children from harmful and inappropriate content; and

• building trust between users and their online platforms.

To uphold users’ rights online, the legislation will defend freedom of expression and the invaluable role of a free press.

Whilst the FCA is an independent, non-governmental regulator, the Treasury, as the department jointly responsible for economic crime policy with Home Office, is in regular contact with the FCA on matters to do with online financial crime. I can confirm that my officials hold regular discussions with their FCA counterparts on these issues, including on the delivery of the Economic Crime Plan, the prevention of online harms, including financial promotions and online fraud, and issues related to anti-money laundering supervision. In addition, the FCA is a member of the Economic Crime Strategic Board, through which the government, regulators, law enforcement, and industry discuss and drive forward the UK’s overall response to economic crime.

I am grateful to the Rt. Hon Gentleman for this question, I know he has been a staunch advocate on this issue.

As the Rt. Hon member is aware there is an important Upper Tribunal judgment pending on this matter and it is right to wait for the outcome of that. But we have been reviewing our approach in the meantime and I will meet the Hon. Member once that review is complete.

Fraudsters have shown they can and will exploit any vulnerability to commit their crimes, including through the use of technology and the internet. We are working with law enforcement and industry to close down these vulnerabilities.

Last year, the National Cyber Security Centre launched the Suspicious Email Reporting Service which has already led to tens of thousands of harmful websites and scams being shut down. We are also seeking to expand membership of the Joint Fraud Taskforce to involve a wider network of stakeholders in our fraud prevention activity.

We are also considering other routes to ensure the public are safe from all forms of online fraud, including legislation. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport is leading efforts on the Online Advertising Programme which will consider further regulation of online advertising to tackle harms including fraud.