£5.4m public sector fraud revealed by audit office
THE LATEST National Fraud Initiative exercise uncovered £5.4m worth of fraud and overpayments across public services in Wales between April 2016 and March 2018 – £1m more than in the previous two-year period.
A report released today by the Auditor General for Wales reveals that more than £35m of fraud and overpayments have been found in Wales since the NFI began in 1996.
The initiative matches data across organisations and systems to help public bodies identify potentially fraudulent or erroneous claims and transactions.
Examples of fraud identified by the NFI include cases where individuals claim housing benefit at more than one property, where claimants have no right to live and work in the UK, where individuals falsely claim the 25% single occupant’s council tax discount, where ongoing payments have been made to a residential care home after the resident has died, where public bodies have paid twice for the same goods or service after receiving duplicate invoices and the improper use of blue badges after a permit-holder has died.
The Auditor General collaborates on the NFI with the Cabinet Office, Audit Scotland and the Northern Ireland Audit Office to match data across 13,000 organisations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In June 2013 the National Fraud Authority estimated that the annual loss to fraud against the public sector in the UK amounted to £662m, excluding tax fraud.
The current NFI exercise has identified £301m in fraud and overpayments across the UK.
While all unitary local authorities, police, fire and NHS bodies in Wales are mandated to participate in the NFI, the Auditor General encourages all publicly funded bodies in Wales to participate on a voluntary basis and free of charge.
The report says the success of the latest exercise is down to the hard work of many members of staff within participating bodies who have shown commitment to reviewing and investigating the data matches. However, there is a lot of variability across Wales.
As part of the next NFI round, the Auditor General’s team will work with participating bodies to help them maximise the potential benefit from the exercise.
Auditor General Adrian Crompton said: “I’m proud to support Welsh public bodies in their fight against fraud as it’s not a victimless crime. When fraudsters claim for services and benefits they’re not entitled to, it means that those in genuine need may have to wait longer for services, treatments or help.
“Uncovering £5.4m in this latest NFI exercise is a considerable help to public services facing huge financial challenges.”