Public Accounts

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 5:02 pm on 26 January 2006.

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Photo of David Heath David Heath Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, Shadow Spokesperson (Cabinet Office) 5:02, 26 January 2006

I think that it is. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, as it now is, should be beyond reproach in this area. Because such fraud has been allowed to develop and devour public funds, however, that department has a serious problem. I want to be assured not only that the Committee is aware of that and examining it, but that the Government recognise that they have a serious problem, which needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

The intervention of Mr. Bacon brings me to my last point, which is on the Committee's opportune report on fraud in the European Union. How long have we talked about the potential for fraud within the European Union? How long has the European Commission simply sat on its hands rather than take the appropriate actions? We have the European fraud office, l'Office Européen de Lutte Anti-Fraude—OLAF—but there is no direct link between OLAF and national audit offices of the member states. There is no common methodology, or even, as has been mentioned, a common definition of what comprises fraud rather than irregularities. We need to get this right, and I echo the call for clarity from the Government as to exactly what they achieved during the UK presidency. If they did not achieve the necessary breakthrough in dealing effectively with fraud, I hope that they will pursue the issue as a member state through the next presidency and the presidency after that, and for as long as it takes to get to the point at which European Union accounts are no longer qualified because it is impossible to account for fraud.

The issues that the Committee takes up on our behalf are enormously important for the country. We should not run away with the idea that all Government functions are in chaos and that mismanagement is the rule of the day. Where that does occur, however, it is important that we identify it, and even more importantly, that we address it, deal with it and improve in future.