PSFA Search and Seizure and Disposal of Property Powers in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill: Factsheet

What is the current policy?

The PSFA’s Enforcement Unit currently does not have any criminal investigation powers to enter premises, conduct searches or seize evidence when it appears to relate to an offence of fraud committed against a public authority. It also does not have the power to apply to a court for an order to dispose of or make changes to property which has come into its possession.

Policy intent

The Bill contains measures to give the PSFA the tools it needs to effectively investigate fraud on behalf of other government departments or public bodies. Whilst the powers themselves are not novel, the PSFA will be using them for the first time.

These include the power to allow the PSFA’s Authorised Investigators to:

• apply to the courts for a search warrant
• apply to the courts for an order to allow the PSFA to gain access to material which isregarded as “excluded material” or “special procedure material” as defined undersections 11 and 14 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE).

These powers are deemed the minimum necessary to secure evidence in criminal investigations and bring the PSFA in line with other government departments, such as HMRC and DWP, which already have these powers.

Giving the PSFA these powers reduces the police’s involvement in PSFA investigations and therefore the burden the PSFA places on the police while pursuing criminal investigations.

The Bill also contains measures so that the PSFA will be able to apply to a court to dispose of property or make changes to property which has come into its possession over the course of an investigation.

How will it work?

The PSFA will have the power to apply to a court for a search warrant or an order to allow the PSFA to gain access to material which is regarded as “excluded material” or “special procedure material”. Section 11 of PACE defines “excluded material” and section 14 of PACE defines “special procedure material”. This power is necessary to ensure that the PSFA has the tools to respond to allegations of fraud committed against the public sector from a wide range of referring public authorities.

Authorised Investigators will have the right, in law, to execute authorised search warrants and court orders. However, to ensure their safety, Authorised Investigators will always be accompanied by at least one officer with powers of a constable who will be able to use their own powers of arrest or reasonable force if necessary. This could be a police officer or an officer from another government department with the powers of a constable.

Authorised Investigators will only have the power to seize material that relates to offences of fraud against a public authority. PSFA Authorised Investigators will not have the power to:

• enter a premises (as defined under section 23 PACE) without a warrant
• use reasonable force
• search a person
• arrest any person

The application of PACE powers is limited to England and Wales.

The PSFA will also have a legal route, under the Bill, to apply to a court for an order in relation to property which has come into its possession, such as an order to dispose of or make changes to the property. This applies to all property which has come into the possession of the PSFA through the exercise of its functions under Part 1 of the Bill. It is not specific to property obtained via the application of the PSFA’s PACE powers.

Oversight and safeguards

The use of PACE powers comes with safeguards which protect the public against their misuse, both within PACE and the PACE Codes of Practice. The powers can only be used under strict conditions, in cases that meet the threshold for criminal investigation.

The following safeguards are included in this measure:

• professional training– Authorised Investigators will be trained to industry standards to carry out these activities. Only once an Authorised Investigator is fully trained will they be allowed to execute these powers.
• grade– To use these measures a PSFA Authorised Investigator must be a PSFA official, and their grade must be equivalent to, or higher than, that of a Higher Executive Officer.
• authorisation of warrants– All applications for warrants and orders need to be authorised by the courts. Only when these have been granted can PSFA’s Authorised Investigators act.
• PACE Code of Practice– PSFA’s Authorised Investigators exercising Search and Seizure powers will need to comply with the Home Office’s PACE Code of Practice B (England and Wales) which governs the exercise of statutory powers of entry, search and seizure for the Police. This provides a robust safety net to ensure the application of any PACE powers is necessary, proportionate and justified in the circumstances.
• independent serious complaints process– The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) will investigate the most serious complaints into PSFA’s use of Entry, Search and Seizure powers
• independent Inspections– PSFA will commission His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to conduct inspections of the use of these powers. In addition, PSFA’s internal oversight provisions will be further supported by a new PSFA internal oversight team, separate from those using the powers, who will report to an external Independent Chair.

The PSFA’s power to make change to or dispose of property which has come into its possession will also be subject to strict oversight measures:

• all applications to modify or dispose of property must be made to a court and safeguards have been included in the clause to ensure there is sufficient time for other parties to come forward and claim a right to the property in question.
• if the PSFA is successful in obtaining an order from the court, it must wait 6 months before it can destroy or dispose of the property. During this time, any person with an interest in the property can apply to the court to make a case for why a different order should be granted.

BBL Summer of Love – BBL Winter of Regret

Please familiarise yourself with the following news updates, as we are now entering a new and important stage of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme:

Lenders Intensify Efforts to Protect Their Reputations and Vulnerable Customers as New Covid Corruption Commissioner Approved Bounce Back Loan Recovery Initiatives Loom – Over 200,000 Defaulters to be Targeted in the Coming Weeks

Warning Issued – Set Up An Affordable Repayment Plan ASAP If You Over-Egged Your Turnover (Either by Mistake or Otherwise) to Get a Bounce Back Loan as You Have One Final, Small Window of Opportunity to do the Right Thing Before No Nonsense Recovery Action Begins

A Reminder of How to Set Up a Repayment Plan on a Defaulted (But Possibly Not a 100% Legitimately Acquired) Bounce Back Loan, and an Insight Into What Each Individual Lender Will or Won’t Ask You During That Process

How Many “Potential Fraud Red Flags” Have You Triggered? The 26 Red Flags Used as Part of the “BBL Summer of Love – BBL Winter of Regret” Recovery Action and Include “Turnover Over-Egging”, “Rapid Withdrawal of BBL Funds”, “Dormant Accounts” and “I.P.” Alerts

Pilot Scheme to Recover Fraudulent Duplicate Bounce Back Loans to Go Live – An Initial 200 People Are Going to Be Targeted During the “BBL Summer of Love”, If Successful the Rest Will Be Targeted During the “BBL Winter of Regret”

Covid Corruption Commissioner Targets Zombie Firms with Unpaid Bounce Back Loans in “BBL Summer of Love – BBL Winter of Regret” Crackdown, with One Serving Member of Parliament, James McMurdock, the MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock Having Been Told to Get His Dodgy BBL’s Sorted

What Do You Risk Losing and How Can the Powers That Be Come After You in the BBL Winter of Regret, If You Blagged a Bounce Back Loan and Fail to Set Up a Repayment Plan During the BBL Summer of Love?

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Lays Into the Department for Trade and Business Over BBL Scheme Recoveries, Blissfully Unaware the BBL Summer of Love and BBL Winter of Regret Initiative is About to Launch

How Do They Know You Over-Egged Your Turnover or Over-Estimated Your Estimated Turnover (Yes, They Are Going After People for That Too) to Get a Bounce Back Loan?

The Department for Business and Trade Release Their “Counter Fraud Strategy” Hinting at Their New Efforts to Recover Funds from COVID-19 Grants and BBL’s, as a Result of Fraud and Error, and Managing Credit Losses/Fraud in COVID-19 Loan Guarantee Schemes.

Government Gives a Big Thumbs Up to My Helpline Callers That Have Already Got Themselves off the BBL Naughty List by Setting up an Affordable Repayment Plan – Take a Look at the Feedback from Those That Have and Those That Have Been Knocked Back

How the Public Sector Fraud Authority Enforcement Unit Will Use the Personal Data of Those They Go After in the “BBL Winter of Regret” for Blagging a Bounce Back Loan Including Monitoring and Recording Their Social Media Account Interactions and Friends/Associates

Deep-Dive the Insolvency Service’s Investigations and Enforcement Strategy 2026 to 2031, That They are Hoping Will Mop Up 10’000s of Bounce Back Loan Blaggers in the BBL Winter of Regret

The Insolvency Service is Gearing Up for the BBL Winter of Regret, as Today, the 16th of July 2025, it Launches Its Strategy to Tackle Bounce Back Loan Blaggers and Other Scamsters

Cabinet Office Counter Fraud Privacy Notice Updated 7 July 2025 – The Cabinet Office Were of Course Part of “Bounce Back Loan Fraud Analytics Variant Pilot” That Worked Out Who Over-Egged Their Turnover

Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill: Factsheets:

Below you will find links to several factsheets that will give you an insight into the extraordinary powers that will be put in the hands of Civil Servants, and others, to enable them to recover funds from Bounce Back Loan Blaggers if they haven’t set up an affordable and sustainable repayment plan on their dodgy BBL, once the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill becomes law.

PSFA Civil Penalties Powers in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill: Factsheet

PSFA Rights and Methods of Recovery in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill: Factsheet

PSFA Search and Seizure and Disposal of Property Powers in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill: Factsheet

PSFA Information Gathering and Sharing Powers in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill: Factsheet

Oversight, Inspections and Safeguards in the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill: Factsheet

Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill Overview: Factsheet

In the interests of openness and transparency, I am in constant contact with the Covid Corruption Commissioner and have had meetings with him, and I am aware of the new recovery initiatives, and will report on any shady goings-on or otherwise by Lenders or the Government as they are rolled out.