Fraud update
0Ian O’Donnell is Executive Director of Corporate Resources, London Borough of Ealing, and Chair of Fighting Fraud Locally Strategic Board
On 6th December 2012 the second Fighting Fraud Locally conference was held in London. The 160 delegates heard the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Baroness Hanham, praise councils for their successful work on countering fraud and pledge continuing government support. Sir Merrick Cockell, Chairman of the LGA , outlined some of the counter fraud achievements in the last year and also pledged the continuing support of the LGA. The conference highlighted the pilots that have been taking place across the country, trialling new techniques and partnerships for fighting fraud. It also highlighted the resources that have been developed to help councils to fight fraud. The Fighting Fraud Locally 2012 Review reports all of the work that has been done since the launch of the strategy in April, and can be accessed here.
Information on the pilots, examples of good practice, and the full range of tools can be accessed at CIPFA’s TISonline website. The page is already the most popular TISonline page ever, and includes amongst other things the Fraud Loss Profile Tool, Slipping Through The Net (a guide to fighting insider fraud), anti-fraud campaign materials, and the Compendium of Powers and Penalties.
Later that evening, the very first Fighting Fraud Awards took place. Nominations were limited to the public sector. Despite a large number of impressive entries from all areas of government, councils scooped most of the prizes. Stoke on Trent won the Fraud Awareness category with their Spot The Cheater campaign. This campaign pack is now available to other councils and can be tailored to meet local needs. Details of all the winners can be found here. The 2013 Fighting Fraud Awards will be open to private and public sector nominees, and details will be announced soon.
No decision has, as yet, been taken by DCLG on the future of the National Fraud Initiative, the Audit Commission’s data matching service. It is understood that the three contenders for ownership, the National Fraud Authority, Cabinet Office, and DWP remain interested and are making further submissions to DCLG.
The DCLG December publication, 50 ways to save – Examples of sensible savings in local government featured counter fraud work in three of the examples: 7. Tackle Fraud, 8. Claw back money from benefit cheats, and 11. Stop the scope for procurement fraud.
The CIPFA/SOLACE Framework for Delivering Good Governance in Local Government, designed to help political leaders and chief executives who have a leadership responsibility and are accountable for ensuring good governance in their authority, which essentially sets out what must go into the Annual Governance Statement, has been updated. It now includes specific reference to ensuring effective counter-fraud and anti-corruption arrangements are developed and maintained. The accompanying guidance note contains questions for the audit committee to ask on the subject.
Finally, the Fighting Fraud Locally team produces a quarterly newsletter. Future editions will focus on sharing best practice and successes against fraud that have been secured by councils. If you would like to receive a copy of this newsletter and have not already requested to do so, please email your request to john.baker@rsmtenon.com
