To receive a report providing a summary of the activity of the Council’s Corporate Fraud Team in 2015/16 including the number of investigations undertaken, types of investigation and the value of the fraud identified.
Contact:A Burns 388122
Minutes:
Consideration was given to a report by the Benefits Manager (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) which provided an overview of the activity of the Corporate Fraud Team during 2015/2016, in line with the requirement as established in the Council’s Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy.
During the year the Fraud Team had received 594 allegations of fraud; investigated 332 cases and identified fraud valued at £679,258; recovered 11 social housing properties and conducted 27 prosecutions.
Historically the main emphasis for the Team had been Housing Benefit fraud. However, in May 2015 this area of work had transferred to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and at the same time three Investigators also transferred to the DWP.
In the future the Fraud Team would continue to be proactive in identifying and investigating allegations of fraud and corruption against the Council. A key aim for 2016/17 was to work in partnership with local housing associations to identify housing tenancy fraud to ensure that social housing was allocated to those with a genuine need.
In response to a question, it was noted that in late 2014 the Council had been awarded funding of £335,000 from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to establish the Cambridgeshire Anti-Fraud Network (CAFN) made up of local authorities and four housing associations. Huntingdonshire District Council had retained approximately £70,000 of the funding towards staffing and software costs for data matching purposes.
Regarding the value of social housing recovered in 2015/2016 it was explained that the industry standard was used as the value for recovering a social housing property which was £18k per property per year, as suggested in the Audit Commission publication ‘Protecting the Public Purse’.
The report included the value of Housing Benefit fraud identified by the Fraud Team during 2015/16. In response to a question it was explained that although the Council did not directly financially benefit from Housing Benefit fraud, it was included within the report as the fraud was unlikely to have been identified without the Council’s involvement. During the investigation of Council Tax Support and Council Tax Discount cases, the Fraud Team regularly found discrepancies in Housing Benefit and DWP benefits, details of which were circulated to the DWP to consider. The Committee agreed that this figure should be included within the report as it demonstrated the successfulness of the Council’s Fraud Team.
During 2015/16 fraud was identified in 41% of the investigated cases. £1.5k of fraud tended to be the financial trigger point to proceed to prosecution. However, the decision of whether to prosecute also depended upon other factors such as the length of time the fraud had been committed. In cases where there had been an investigation but no fraud identified, claimants would be made aware that they had been investigated. All allegations of fraud were assessed by the Fraud Team and those that were malicious, or did not relate to Council business or were of a value that did not warrant a full investigation or a potential prosecution were not investigated.
Aside from the Fraud Team identifying fraud, allegations of fraud were received in a variety of forms. Allegations could be reported on-line, by telephone or by visiting the Council Offices. Allegations were also received from colleagues in other departments.
Regarding the value of fraud identified, it was explained that it was not always able to be recovered immediately. However, the Committee were assured that over time it was eventually reimbursed. When fraud was identified the claimant was invited to an interview under caution, to allow the individual an opportunity to explain the reasons for the fraud and for the Fraud Team to establish whether there was intent to commit fraud. The Fraud Team regularly issued press releases in respect of successful prosecutions to highlight the consequences of committing fraud against the Council. Literature issued by the Fraud Team also emphasised the seriousness of committing fraud.
The Corporate Governance Committee commended the Fraud Team on its success, and
RESOLVED
that the Corporate Governance Committee notes the contents of the report detailing the work undertaken by the Corporate Fraud Team during 2015/16.
Supporting documents: