Legislation – Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025

Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.

Part 1Functions exercisable on behalf of public authorities

Chapter 2Investigatory powers

Information

3Information notices

(1)

The Minister may require a person (“P”) to give specified information to the Minister where the Minister considers that—

(a)

it is necessary and proportionate to do so for the purpose of exercising the Minister’s functions under section 1(1)(a) to (c), and

(b)

the information relates to a person (whether or not P) whom the Minister has reasonable grounds to suspect has committed fraud against a public authority.

(2)

The power conferred by subsection (1) is to be exercised by giving P a notice (an “information notice”).

(3)

An information notice must identify (by name or description) the person suspected of having committed fraud as mentioned in subsection (1)(b).

(4)

An information notice must set out—

(a)

how, where and the period within which the information must be given to the Minister in order for the recipient of the notice to avoid being liable to a penalty under section 54;

(b)

information about the consequences of not complying with the notice.

(5)

The period mentioned in subsection (4)(a) must not be less than 10 working days beginning with the day after the day on which the information notice is given.

(6)

The power under this section to require P to give information to the Minister includes the power to—

(a)

take copies of or extracts from information;

(b)

require P to provide information in a specified form;

(c)

require P to retain information that P would not otherwise retain;

(d)

if any specified information is not given to the Minister, require P to state, to the best of P’s knowledge and belief, both where that information is and why it has not been given to the Minister.

(7)

An information notice under this section may not require the giving of—

(a)

journalistic material, or

(b)

excluded material,

within the meaning of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (see sections 11 to 13 of that Act; see section 7(2)(b) of this Act for provision about production orders).

(8)

In this section, “specified” means—

(a)

specified, or described, in an information notice, or

(b)

falling within a category that is specified, or described, in an information notice.

4Reviews

(1)

A person to whom an information notice is given under section 3 may apply to the Minister for a review of the decision to give the notice.

(2)

An application under subsection (1) must be made within the period of 7 days beginning with the day after the day on which the notice is given.

(3)

Where an application is made under subsection (1), the Minister must review the decision to give the notice.

(4)

On the review, the Minister may—

(a)

revoke the notice,

(b)

uphold the notice, or

(c)

vary the notice.

(5)

After a review has been carried out, the Minister must—

(a)

notify the person who applied for the review of the outcome of the review, and

(b)

if the outcome was to vary the notice, give the person the varied notice.

(6)

Where an information notice is upheld or varied on a review, the period mentioned in section 3(4)(a) is to be treated as beginning on the day after the day on which the outcome of the review is notified to the person to whom the information notice was given.

(1)

A public authority may disclose information to the Minister for the purpose of facilitating the Minister’s exercise of the core functions.

(2)

The Minister may use information disclosed under subsection (1) only for the purpose of exercising the core functions.

(3)

The Minister may disclose information to another person for the purpose of exercising the core functions.

(4)

Where the Minister discloses information to a person under subsection (3), the person may not—

(a)

use it for any purpose other than the purpose for which it was disclosed, and

(b)

may not disclose it to any other person,

without the consent of the Minister.

6Amendment of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016

In the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, in Schedule 4 (relevant public authorities and designated senior officers etc), in the table in Part 1, before the entry for the Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service insert—

“Cabinet Office, so far as relating to the Public Sector Fraud Authority

60A(7)(b)”.

Powers of entry, search and seizure etc

7Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 etc powers

(1)

The provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 listed in subsection (2) apply in relation to investigations of offences of fraud against a public authority that are conducted by authorised investigators in the exercise of the Minister’s function under section 1(1)(a) as they apply in relation to investigations of offences conducted by police officers, subject to the modifications in Schedule 1.

(2)

The provisions are—

(a)

section 8(1) to (5) (power of justice of the peace to authorise entry and search of premises);

(b)

section 9(1) and Schedule 1 (special provisions as to access);

(c)

section 15 (search warrants: safeguards);

(d)

section 16 (execution of warrants);

(e)

section 19 (general power of seizure etc);

(f)

section 20 (extension of powers of seizure to computerised information);

(g)

section 21 (access and copying);

(h)

section 22 (retention);

(i)

sections 10 to 14, 23 and 118 (interpretation provisions), so far as necessary for the application of the provisions mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (h).

(3)

An authorised investigator is an individual who is authorised by the Minister to exercise the powers conferred by this section.

(4)

An individual may not be an authorised investigator unless the individual—

(a)

is employed in the civil service of the state in the Minister’s department, and

(b)

is a higher executive officer or has a grade that is equivalent to, or higher than, that of a higher executive officer.

8Disposal of property

(1)

A magistrates’ court may, on an application by the Minister or a person with an interest in relevant property—

(a)

order the delivery of the relevant property to the person appearing to the court to be its owner, or

(b)

if its owner cannot be ascertained, make any other order about the relevant property.

(2)

An order under subsection (1)(a) may include provision for the Minister to make any changes to the relevant property that the court considers necessary for the purpose of avoiding or reducing any risk of the relevant property being used in the commission of an offence.

(3)

An order under subsection (1)(b) may not provide for the destruction or disposal of the relevant property before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the day on which the order is made.

(4)

An order under subsection (1)(b) (“the first order”) does not prevent further applications being made for an order under subsection (1) in respect of the relevant property to which the first order applies.

(5)

Where an order is made following a further application—

(a)

the order may not provide for the destruction or disposal of the relevant property before the end of the period of 6 months beginning with the day on which the first order was made, but

(b)

the order may otherwise contain such provision as to the timing of the destruction or disposal of the relevant property as the court thinks fit.

(6)

In this section, “relevant property” means tangible property which has come into the possession of the Minister in the course of, or in connection with, the exercise of a function under this Part.

9Incidents etc

(1)

The Police Reform Act 2002 (complaints and misconduct) is amended as follows.

(2)

In section 10 (general functions of the Director General)—

(a)

in subsection (1), at the end of paragraph (gb) insert “, and

(gc)

to carry out such corresponding functions in relation to public sector fraud investigators acting in the exercise of functions conferred on them by section 7 of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025 (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 powers for public sector fraud investigators).”,

(b)

in subsection (3), after paragraph (be) insert—

“(bf)

any regulations under section 26G of this Act (public sector fraud investigators);”, and

(c)

after subsection (7) insert—

“(7A)

In this section, “public sector fraud investigators” means authorised investigators within the meaning given by section 7 of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025.”

(3)

After section 26F insert—

“26GPublic sector fraud investigators

(1)

The Minister for the Cabinet Office (“the Minister”) may make regulations conferring functions on the Director General in relation to public sector fraud investigators acting in the exercise of functions conferred on them by section 7 of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025 (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 powers for public sector fraud investigators).

(2)

Regulations under this section may, in particular—

(a)

apply (with or without modifications), or make provision similar to, any provision of or made under this Part;

(b)

make provision for payment by the Minister to, or in respect of, the Office or in respect of the Director General.

(3)

The Director General and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration may jointly investigate a matter in relation to which—

(a)

the Director General has functions by virtue of this section, and

(b)

the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration has functions by virtue of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967.

(4)

The Minister may disclose information to the Director General or to a person acting on the Director General’s behalf, for the purposes of the exercise by the Director General or by any person acting on the Director General’s behalf, of a public sector fraud complaints function.

(5)

The Director General and the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration may disclose information to each other for the purposes of the exercise of a function—

(a)

by virtue of this section, or

(b)

under the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967.

(6)

Regulations under this section may, in particular, make—

(a)

further provision about the disclosure of information under subsection (4) or (5);

(b)

provision about the further disclosure of information that has been so disclosed.

(7)

A disclosure of information authorised by or under this section does not breach—

(a)

any obligation of confidence owed by the person making the disclosure, or

(b)

any other restriction on the disclosure of information (however imposed).

(8)

No provision made by or under this section authorises a disclosure of information that is prohibited by any of Parts 1 to 7 or Chapter 1 of Part 9 of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.

(9)

In this section—

“public sector fraud complaints function” means a function in relation to the exercise of functions conferred by section 7 of the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025;

“public sector fraud investigator” means an authorised investigator within the meaning given by section 7 of that Act.”

(4)

In section 105 (powers of Secretary of State to make orders and regulations), after subsection (5) insert—

“(6)

In this section, references to the Secretary of State include references to the Minister for the Cabinet Office for the purposes of section 26G (power to make regulations about public sector fraud investigators).”

Changes to legislation:

Changes to Legislation