Agenda item

Officers presented the Counter Fraud progress report.

Officers highlighted the recent achievement of the team being awarded the Public Finance Awards in the category of Outstanding Fraud Prevention, Detection and Recovery. The team had also won the Grand Prix award, which was the winner of the winners of the night award. Officers thanked Members and other officers for their contributions to this.

The team had achieved £5.6 million in savings during Q3, which was the highest figure ever recorded for a quarter. This brought the total for the year to £9.2 million. Most of the activity focused on housing, social care and revenues.

In housing, 32 properties were recovered due to tenancy fraud, totalling 80 for the year as a whole, with 135 ongoing investigations. Revenue maximisation efforts had identified undeclared businesses, resulting in billings issued exceeding £3.6 million. In social care, multiple fraud awareness sessions had led to an increase in fraud referrals, particularly related to direct payments.

Looking ahead to Q4, the management team planned to focus on housing and social care whilst preparing for the new financial year.

Officer proposed a change to the formatting of the presented report to include fewer narratives and more visual representations, to aid Members in their understanding. Members supported this idea, citing the need for clear understanding. It was also noted that this may be a benefit to any substitute Members.

Member praised the team’s achievements, noting their consistent performance.

Members noted where the report stated there was more work to be done on social care fraud. Officers noted that they had had discussions on this and acknowledged that there was more work to be done on understanding the fraud risk in this area. This was a key focus moving forward.

Members referred to publicity of the Counter Fraud team’s work, and officers noted that more could be done on this, although more was being done than in previous years.  Members highlighted publicity on blue badges.

Members asked about the ongoing investigations in housing and asked how long these investigations take. Officers noted that most of the referrals received were anonymous or internal. This meant that when officers were notified of tenancy fraud, the person committing the fraud would be unaware. They would then not be notified until officers had gathered sufficient evidence so that the person could be interviewed.

Members asked about ‘beds in sheds’ and whether these were across the borough or centred around certain areas. Officers noted that a lot of this was to do with where the university was located and where the airport was located in terms of renting a room for work. Therefore, a lot was centred around certain areas of the borough.

Members asked about the £3.6 million in revenue maximisation, noting that this seemed quite high. Officers noted that the last financial year was the first looking at revenue maximisation. On one day per quarter the team went out into hotspot areas to see which businesses were notified within the system for business rates.

The Chair asked about the working relationship with legal officers. Officers noted that there was a good working relationship with legal officers, and there were a number of lawyers that worked on the team’s behalf.

The Chair noted good performance against the Key Performance Indicators.

Officers assured the Committee of the support from senior management if additional resources were required.

Members referenced the recent zero-based budgeting activity and asked if the Counter Fraud team had been through this process yet. Officers confirmed that they had, noting that it was an enlightening and insightful exercise. It had brought out some themes of what could be improved going forward. This included the use of data and technology, and activity within social care.

The Chair asked about data match sets which had been generated and had resulted in high-quality referrals and property recovery. Officers noted that this match was centralised around housing. Officers noted that when tenants passed away, sometimes the Council was not notified. This meant that homes could be left empty. Therefore, officers were using data sets to highlight whether someone had potentially passed away to ensure that properties were not unused.

Members highlighted residency checks on all emergency accommodation units noted in the report, which had led to a further seven units being closed due to non-occupation. Members asked what types of accommodation this referred to. Officers clarified that this referred to bed and breakfasts that were provided to homeless individuals as an imminent response as an authority.

RESOLVED: That the Audit Committee:

1. Noted the Counter Fraud Progress Report for 2023/24 Quarter 3; and

2. Suggested any comments/ amendments