Efforts to tackle fraud in East Dunbartonshire resulted in over £180,000 being saved over a period of six months. The Council’s Corporate Fraud team dealt with 92 reports of alleged fraud in the six months up to September 2022.
A Fraud Performance Report to the Audit and Risk Management Committee on Thursday 1 December highlighted that nearly £130,000 of fraud or error was discovered relating to Business Rates Reliefs.
In addition, almost £58,000 relating to Council Tax fraud/error was uncovered, 15 school registration applications were refused, 24 tenancy offers were withdrawn and nine social housing properties were recovered.
Councillor Gordan Low, Leader of the Council, said, “The Council is committed to ensuring that any fraud or abuse of the system is discovered and stopped. It is essential that public money is spent on essential services and goes to those who need it. In addition to the monetary value, deception such as tenancy fraud can cause significant social harm. It deprives legitimate and deserving tenants access to affordable homes and has a detrimental impact on local people, their families and communities.
“I would like to extend my thanks to the Corporate Fraud team for their hard work and reassure our residents we will continue to work with our partners to robustly tackle fraud and to protect the public interest.”
The Council continually seeks new methods to identify fraud and will shortly be commencing work on the National Fraud Initiative. This matches electronic data within and between public and private sector bodies to prevent and detect fraud. It involves organisations including Police Scotland, HMRC and the Department of Works and Pensions.
Despite the success of new methods, it is recognised that residents reporting concerns to the Council remains highly effective.
If you have information regarding any fraud against East Dunbartonshire Council you can report it anonymously by contacting the Council:
· Online
· Emailing fraud@eastdunbarton.gov..uk
· Calling 0300 123 4510
· Writing to Corporate Fraud Team, East Dunbartonshire Council, 2-4 West High Street, Kirkintilloch, G66 1AD
Work continues to combat fraud and protect public interest
Date:
Wednesday, 14 December, 2022