18 The Department's business case for the project was based on achieving the potential fraud savings from introducing the new system. This meant that any significant delay in delivery would begin to erode the business case. The misuse of order books and girocheques was at the start of the project estimated to cost the taxpayer over £150 million in fraud each year, though from 1996 a system of electronic stop notices implemented in the London area started to reduce this. Payment fraud losses are now estimated at some £100 million. We found that the Department's business case for the project included limited analysis to ensure that it would remain robust in the event of significant slippage. The Department accepted that slippage presented a risk to their business case, but were confident that a large proportion had been transferred to Pathway, who were to be paid only when the service was up and running. Sensitivity testing was done routinely after signature of the contract to assess the impact of revised dates.