The UK government has reported its biggest ever success in tackling public sector fraud, with artificial intelligence and data-driven tools helping to prevent more than £480 million from being lost to fraudsters since April 2024.
Cabinet Office minister Josh Simons said the savings will help fund schools, hospitals and policing as part of the government’s Plan for Change. The results mark a £110 million increase on the previous year, reflecting a rapid acceleration in the use of technology to secure public funds.
A significant share of the savings stem from Covid-related fraud. Around £186 million was recovered from fraudulent Bounce Back Loan claims and other pandemic support schemes. Efforts included blocking hundreds of thousands of companies with suspicious loans from dissolving before repayment, as well as recovering millions from firms that took multiple loans or were never eligible.
Beyond pandemic schemes, AI-enabled data matching has been deployed to uncover fraud across a wide range of public services. Over 37,000 fraudulent single-person council tax discounts have been stopped, preventing £36 million in losses. Investigators also removed more than 2,600 ineligible names from social housing waiting lists, many of whom had attempted to sublet subsidised homes. In the pensions system, £68 million of wrongful payments were prevented after checks identified cases where relatives continued to claim benefits for deceased individuals.
New AI systems now being rolled out across departments can scan draft policies and identify vulnerabilities before they are exploited, effectively “fraud-proofing” programmes before they launch. Early testing suggests the tool can cut fraud risk assessment times by 80 per cent, saving thousands of hours of staff time while maintaining human oversight.
Simons said: “Working people expect their taxes to fund schools, hospitals and roads, not to line the pockets of scammers. By using cutting-edge AI and data tools, we are staying one step ahead of fraudsters and ensuring public money goes where it is needed most.”
The crackdown is part of a wider push to save £45 billion across the public sector through digital innovation and productivity improvements. For civil servants and technology providers, it signals a growing emphasis on integrating advanced data analysis into core operations, from benefits systems to local government services.
The Public Sector Fraud Authority, which has driven many of the initiatives, has also supported new legislation and specialist roles, including a Covid Counter-Fraud Commissioner. Officials believe that combining AI with legislative and investigative capacity will create a long-term deterrent effect.