On the 15th March 2007 the UK Government (through the Attorney General) gave its response (pdf) to the Fraud Review Final Report, which represents the first comprehensive and holistic review of fraud and anti fraud efforts in England and Wales.

In short, the Government has accepted all the major recommendations of the final report which include the following areas that are of interest:

1. The formation of a National Fraud Strategic Authority (NFSA) which will develop and disseminate best practice as part of a national strategy (which will include the Commercial Sector).
2. Establishing a programme to measure the national extent of fraud.
3. The (early) formation of a National Fraud Reporting Centre (NFRC) to identify emerging trends and act as a data 'clearing house'.
4. Increased levels of data sharing - both within Government and with external agencies.
5. An increased role for Government Audit bodies to develop anti-fraud measures.
6. Changing the criminal justice system to make the detection, investigation and prosecution of fraud cases more effective.

Of interest to SAS is that the strategy models described in the report are clearly based on the strategies of the National Health Service (NHS) Counter Fraud & Security Management Service (CFSMS), to which SAS is a strategic partner. It is not difficult to see the dependence on Business Intelligence that is going to be at the heart of the implementation of the strategy. Neither is it difficult to imagine this strategy being evaluated as a model beyond the UK's borders.