Anti-fraud and corruption policy

The main areas of fraud that were reported in Fighting Fraud & Corruption Locally 2017-2022 continue to feature as significant risks. However, there are also new fraud types emerging, and some of these are more prevalent in other parts of the country. Examples of fraud risk relevant to the Council to provide context around potential impacts include:

Blue Badge – Use of counterfeit/altered badges, use when disabled person is not in the vehicle, use of a deceased person’s Blue Badge, badges issued to institutions being misused by employees.

Grants – Work not carried out, funds diverted, ineligibility not declared.

Identity fraud – False identity / fictitious persons applying for services / payments.

Internal fraud – Diverting council monies to a personal account; accepting bribes; stealing cash; misallocating social housing for personal gain; working elsewhere while claiming to be off sick; false overtime claims; selling council property for personal gain;

Payroll – False employees, overtime claims, expenses.

Council Tax – False claims for discounts or exemptions to reduce liability.

Housing Benefit – False claims regarding income, capital, rent liability or family makeup to increase entitlement.

Business Rates – Deliberate withholding of information or relevant facts to evade or reduce liability.

Housing/ Tenancy Fraud – providing false information to obtain social housing, sub-letting or parting with occupation, false succession applications and Right to Buy supported by money laundering.

Procurement – Tendering issues, split contracts, double invoicing.

Commissioning of services, including joint commissioning, and third sector partnerships – conflicts of interest, collusion.

Concessionary travel schemes – Use of concession by ineligible person, including Freedom Passes.

Cyber dependent crime and cyber enabled fraud – Enables a range of fraud types resulting in diversion of funds, creation of false applications for services and payments.

Disabled Facility Grants – Fraudulent applications for adaptions to homes aimed at the disabled.

Immigration, including sham marriages – False entitlement to services and payments.

Insurance Fraud – False claims including slips and trips and claims for damages.

Local Enterprise Partnerships – Voluntary partnerships between local authorities and businesses. Procurement fraud, grant fraud.

New Responsibilities – Areas that have transferred to local authority responsibility e.g. Public Health grants, contracts.

Money laundering – Exposure to suspect transactions