£3mfraud crackdown by council
Political Correspondent A CRACKDOWN has uncovered millions of pounds worth of housing fraud, according to council bosses.
Hundreds of cases of fraud or errors in applications for council housing were reported leading to dozens being marked as fraudulent.
East Dunbartonshire Council said the reports of fraud were up on previous years with almost 250 cases coming to their attention in the last year, with 42 marked fraud or containing errors.
Investigations led to 39 offers of a tenancy being withdrawn and a saving to the council coffers running into millions of pounds.
The council said each case of tenancy fraud costs an estimated £93,000 and affects others on the waiting list for housing.
The crackdown has, the council said, led to homes being unlocked for others who were further down the list who could have missed out.
The cost is estimated to be £3.6million saved.
The investigations also found three houses not to be occupied and they have since been reclaimed.
Another six homelessness applications were identified as having been made either fraudulently or in error.
The council said it has sent one case to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for consideration of criminal proceedings.
As well as the housing scams the fraud team also found Council Tax irregularities totalling £202,412, business rates evasion of £54,363 and employment-related fraud/theft of £1139.
And on top of that a total of £89,337 was saved through the National Fraud Initiative.
The investigations across council departments found a range of fraudulent applications including for education places/funding requests and taxi licences.
Councillor Gordan Low, Leader of East Dunbartonshire Council, said, “Well done to everyone within the Corporate Fraud Team for their work over the past year.
“We have a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and corruption, and are committed to safeguarding public funds.
“Rest assured, we will continue to work with our partners to tackle all incidents of fraud – protecting the public purse and ensuring fairness as regards issues such as social housing, Council Tax and school placing requests.”
He urged the public to help the council by reporting any cases of fraud to help keep council costs down and protect council services.