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1,831 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudI do not accept the premise that lenders are failing on fraud, and, of course, the noble Lord, Lord Patel, will know that I am not in a position to name individual lenders.…25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudThat is a very fair question and of course the sort of detailed question that I cannot answer. In terms of the fraud that we are looking to identify as part of the loan book, as…25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudI am aware that my noble friend has much experience in this area, linked to her work on pensions and in respect of HMRC. She is absolutely right: preventing fraud is incredibly…25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudI promise that I shall stay the course. Throughout this dreadful crisis that we have had to endure over the past two years, the Government’s number one priority has been to…25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudThe House will have heard the question from the noble Lord, and I shall take it back.25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudOn PPE, we acknowledge the severity of these claims, and the DHSC takes its responsibilities around due diligence extremely seriously. Of course, this goes back a bit further. As…25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudThat is certainly one of the lessons learned; I know that it is on the agenda to be looked at.25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudMy understanding is that BEIS has invested significantly in the expansion of its counterfraud function, in terms both of increased resource and, critically, of capabilities. A key…25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudNo, he should not resign. I go back to the most fundamental point, which is that we had to act particularly quickly back in lockdown 1 to support businesses. As a result, we put…25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudNot that I am aware of.25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudI think the answer has to be no. We had to move particularly quickly in very difficult circumstances. Of course, there is always a risk of fraud—all fraud is unacceptable, but…25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudI do not have an answer to that; I will have to get an answer to the noble Lord. I say again that the schemes brought forward during those very difficult times were designed in…25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudThat is a good point. It is certainly something that I shall need to look into and I shall need to write to my noble friend about it. There is no question but that the auditing…25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudThe noble Lord’s question is focused on HMRC, but I can say that the expected losses to error and fraud in 2021 were £5.8 billion, and expected losses for 2021-22 will be…25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudAgain, we should remember that, in lockdown 1—roughly from March to April 2020—there was a clear need for urgent action to encourage a greater take-up of different support…25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudIt is a slightly complicated picture, but the Government continue to work actively with the British Business Bank, lenders and fraud authorities to identify and address fraud…25 Jan 2022HANSARDCoronavirus Grants: FraudPerhaps I should start by thanking my noble friend Lord Agnew for allowing me the opportunity to stand here today—25 Jan 2022HANSARDOil and Gas: Subsidies and LicensingMy Lords, can we have a little order? Also, I need to remind future speakers that the Minister needs to be speaking by 3.47 pm.20 Jan 2022HANSARDWales: Coal TipsI am going to push back at the noble Lord and say once again that the Welsh Government are more than adequately funded to manage their devolved responsibilities. They can pay for…19 Jan 2022HANSARDWales: Coal TipsJust to reiterate, this is a devolved matter, and we expect the Welsh Government to manage any long-term costs associated with ensuring the safety of Welsh coal tips, as I said…19 Jan 2022