OREANDA-NEWS. June 09, 2011. Fraud and Error technology provided by Fujitsu, working collaboratively with Capgemini under the Aspire contract, has played a significant role in helping HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to meet its initial targets in preventing fraud and error loss during 2010/11.

The new Fraud and Error Technology, deployed at a document centre in the North West, is part of a series of measures brought in by HMRC and will support increased cost savings in future years.

The solution is unique in that it enables fraud to be identified and captured before it enters the system. Francis Maude, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General was quoted yesterday (8 June 2011) as saying that “too often, the public sector takes a ‘pay first, check later’ approach to fraud” and that “it is time to end the ‘pay first, check later’ status quo and start putting Ј21 billion of taxpayers’ money to better use”. He then used HMRC as an example of a Department that had changed to this new approach.

Fujitsu estimates that joining up its own processes with those of the customer has contributed to savings to the Exchequer of over Ј100 million during 2010/2011 and its solution, known as Fraud Screen, will significantly add to these fraud and error cost savings in future years.

Andy Farrar, head of Benefits and Credits Exchequer Losses Programme for HMRC, said: “We’re working closely with other parts of the Department to help prevent losses entering our systems when people report changes of circumstance, as well as with our IT supplier Fujitsu who has developed an error-and-fraud firewall to screen new claims.”

Andy Fuller, associate director at Fujitsu UK and Ireland, said: “Fujitsu is pleased to be working successfully with our colleagues in Government to tackle the problem of fraud. Our approach to Fraud and Error has been proven to deliver dramatic results in a very short period of time and we would welcome the opportunity to extend it more widely across both local and central government.”