What was your highlight of 2024?
Bringing the government counter fraud profession’s Counter Fraud Leadership Programme to life. Ever since I started leading fraud teams 15 years ago, I’ve felt the need for an offer for those leading the fraud response to help them do their jobs – based on the learnings of those who have gone before! It’s taken a few years, with the pandemic in between, to bring this from an idea into a living, breathing year-long qualification with an immersive week at the end. To see it come to life, for it to exist and for participants to be so positive, has been inspirational. An example of something being better than you imagined and being so proud of everyone who worked to bring it to life.
What was the hardest part of being a leader in 2024?
Having two small kids and balancing them with bringing my best self to work as much as possible. I put a lot of energy into trying to be the best leader I can and my lovely kids consume a fair amount of that! I feel incredibly lucky that I’m able to work in a way that I can share the drop-offs, pick-ups and bedtimes. It’s also been a year characterised by uncertainty and change. For me, this has two sides – it’s draining, but it’s motivating and an opportunity. A key part of my role as a leader is to not get carried away with my response to it and to create an environment to help those around me to succeed.
What are the main challenges facing the function in the coming year – and how are you planning to meet them?
Firstly, the threat from fraud is rising. Our data already tells us that fraud has been rising over the past 10 years and DWP has estimated that fraud levels are likely to grow at around 5% per year without action to reduce it. Our job, therefore – working with public bodies to be the force that counters fraud against the public sector – is likely to get harder.
Second is how we work with public bodies to continue viewing action on the unseen and often underestimated problem of fraud as a priority amid a fast-changing environment and many other urgent priorities, including public services reform.
"The threat from fraud is rising. Our job, therefore, is likely to get harder"
There is a real opportunity here – fraud work done well drives down public spending, ensures public money goes into public services, builds rewarding jobs and careers, and reduces fraud and dishonesty in society.
Thirdly, is how we understand and harness AI to our advantage. Doubtless, those who attack our systems are looking at how they use AI, and we need to get ahead of them. As we see it, AI’s role will very much be supporting experts to do more – whether that’s bringing more data together quickly to help them spot and take action on fraud, or using machine learning to support them in all of the counter fraud disciplines. If we can harness AI well, it will enable us to have a step change in our impact.
What was the best Christmas present you’ve ever given or received? And the worst?
As I get older, I forget the presents (although I am sure I have had some good ones!). It is corny, but the best Christmas "present" is having a day to do all the old routines and rituals I grew up with the next generation of my family. I look forward to it all year.