The NHS Counter Fraud Authority is a

special health authority A special health authority is a type of NHS body which provide services on behalf of the National Health Service in England. Unlike other types of trust, they operate nationally rather than serve a specific geographical area. They are a type of " ...

charged with identifying, investigating and preventing

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

and other

economic crime Financial crime is crime committed against property, involving the unlawful conversion of the ownership of property (belonging to one person) to one's own personal use and benefit. Financial crimes may involve fraud ( cheque fraud, credit card fra ...

within the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

and the wider health group, formed on November 1, 2017 under section 28 of the

National Health Service Act 2006 The National Health Service Act 2006c 41 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sets out the structure of the National Health Service in England. It was altered and completely renumbered by the Health and Social Care Act 2012c ...

. It replaces its predecessor

NHS Protect NHS Protect formed part of the NHS Business Services Authority of the National Health Service until 2017. It had responsibility in England for tackling fraud, violence, bribery, corruption, criminal damage, theft and other unlawful action such a ...

, which was part of the

NHS Business Services Authority The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care which provides a number of support services to the National Health Service in National Health Service (England) ...

Role

As a

focused entirely on counter-fraud work, the Counter Fraud Authority is independent from other NHS bodies and as an

arm's length body A quango or QUANGO (less often QuANGO or QANGO) is an organisation to which a government has devolved power, but which is still partly controlled and/or financed by government bodies. The term was originally a shortening of "quasi-NGO", where NG ...

is directly accountable to the

Department of Health and Social Care The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for government policy on health and adult social care matters in England, along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwis ...

. The departmental sponsor is the Department of Health and Social Care's Anti-Fraud Unit, which holds the board to account for the delivery of its strategy. The mission of the organisation is to lead the fight against fraud affecting the NHS and wider health service, and protect vital resources intended for patient care. It is intended to be the single expert, intelligence-led organisation providing centralised intelligence, investigation and solutions capacity for tackling fraud in the NHS in England. It acts as the repository for all information related to fraud in the NHS and the wider health group, and will have oversight of and monitor counter fraud work across the NHS. It calculates that £216 million in fraud was “almost certain” and a further £135 million was “highly likely” with around £560 million considered likely. This included £100 million of pharmaceutical contract fraud, £90.6 million

payroll A payroll is the list of employees of some company that is entitled to receive payments as well as other work benefits and the amounts that each should receive. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time worked or tasks pe ...

and

identity fraud Identity fraud is the use by one person of another person's personal information, without authorization, to commit a crime or to deceive or defraud that other person or a third person. Most identity fraud is committed in the context of financial ad ...

and £165 million related to procurement and commissioning.

Objectives

It had five objectives for 2017–2020: # Deliver the Department of Health's strategy, vision and strategic plan and lead counter fraud activity in the NHS in England. # Be the single expert intelligence-led organisation providing a centralised investigation capacity for complex economic crime matters in the NHS. # Lead and influence the improvement of standards in counter fraud work across the NHS. # Take the lead in and encourage fraud reporting across the NHS and wider health group. # Continue to develop the expertise of staff. It aims to identify current and future fraud risks and adapt to emerging threats and issues, meeting head-on the fraud risks affecting the NHS and wider health group.

Location

The organisation's headquarters is at

Skipton House Skipton House is a high specification office building in Elephant and Castle, Central London. It was built for a Japanese bank and then sold on to accommodate staff of the Department of Health who were moved out of Alexander Fleming House. T ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, with additional offices at Citygate in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

and Cheylesmore House in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

References

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External links

* https://cfa.nhs.uk/ Fraud in the United Kingdom Fraud organizations Health in the London Borough of Southwark NHS special health authorities Organisations based in the London Borough of Southwark 2017 establishments in the United Kingdom Government agencies established in 2017

Role

Objectives

Location

See also

References

External links