Issue - meetings

This is the annual report on the progress made in delivering the 2009-10 year service plans; key results of the work undertaken; and the performance achieved.

Geoff Drake, Chief Internal Auditor, introduced the Annual Report of the Corporate Anti-Fraud Service (CAFS) for the 2009-10 financial year. He said that the Service had had a very successful year, both in terms of the quantity of outcomes and the value of those outcomes. He cited examples of successful prosecutions, including the “ghost employees” case, and noted new methods of recovery identified, such as recovery via the London Pension Fund Authority.

Councillor Botterill asked whether CAFS had any involvement in the Blue Badge fraud prevention project. Geoff Drake said that it did not.

The Chairman noted that the Service was not self-financing, and asked whether the split between closing cases and cash recoverable had been considered.

Geoff Drake said that there was no expectation of the service being self-financing, and a significant element of it- the team checking for fraud within the Council- did not have many opportunities to recover monies. A view was taken on the proportionality of investigation, with CAFS unable to investigate all complaints referred to it. In addition, work was ongoing to fully model the full cost of recovering monies recoverable; once what monies were recovered was better understood, the Service could examine how its targets might relate more directly to the monies recovered.

Eugenie White asked whether any research had been undertaken into whether the success of a service translated into increased referrals meaning more fraud was detected, or into reduced levels of fraud. Geoff Drake said that there had been no study on the question to his knowledge. He noted that, when Councils did benchmarking exercises, discussions often turned to volumes of referrals and cases.

Councillor Ginn noted that there was both a deterrent effect and justice element to CAFS’ work which added value. Geoff Drake agreed, noting that it was hard to put a precise monetary value on work like CAFS’ tenancy review, which had removed 50,000 people from the Housing Register, with properties likely to have been turned into illegal sublet. The Chairman noted that the bounty payable on Housing Benefit fraud was not fully reflected as income generated by CAFS officers.

Committee to receive update on work on modelling the cost and recovery structure of the service at its next meeting

Officers to schedule presentation for all Councillors (incl. non-Cttee members) on the work of CAFS

RESOLVED

Report noted