Increased efforts are to be undertaken by South Ayrshire Council to combat Housing and Council Tax Benefit Fraud.

The Council’s Policy and Resources Committee on Resource Management has endorsed special counter-fraud sanctions and a strategy which includes entering into a Fraud Partnership with the Department of Work and Pensions to maximise resource in the prevention and detection of benefit fraud.

Explained the Leader of South Ayrshire Council, Councillor Andy Hill: “The Council is already committed to the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of fraudulent claims for housing and Council tax benefit and the protection of public funds.

“The Council’s benefits and counter-fraud staff currently scrutinise data matches from the Department for Work and Pensions where a discrepancy exists between their records and ours. The frequency of receiving these matches has been increased, and the Council is also now receiving a monthly report of benefit claims that potentially have a higher risk of fraud or error. This information is then used as a baseline for ‘reviews’ undertaken by benefits staff and visiting officers.

“The Council’s policy on fraud is quite clear. We aim to deter fraud in the first instance, detect it quickly, investigate it efficiently, and to prosecute offenders when this is appropriate.

“All fraud investigations are conducted in accordance with the relevant legislation, guidance from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Local Authorities Counter Fraud Investigators ‘Good Practice Guide. At the same time the fraud section strictly adheres to the provisions of the Human Rights Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act, 1998.”

Resolving cases where incorrect or fraudulent benefit is being wrongly claimed could result in a cash benefit to the Council estimated at £78,000 during the current financial year.

May 2005