Protecting the Public PurseFraud Briefing 2013 Hertfordshire County Council

Agenda

• Introduction and purpose of your Fraud Briefing

• Protecting the Public Purse (PPP) 2013 report – national picture

• Interpreting fraud detection results

• The local picture

• Questions?

And do not forget–Checklist for those charged with governance (Appendix 2 of PPP 2013)–Questions councillors may want to ask/consider (Appendix 3 of PPP 2013)

Introduction

• Fraud costs local government in England over £2 billion per year (source: National Fraud Authority)

• Fraud is never a victimless crime

• Councillors have an important role in the fight against fraud

Purpose of Fraud Briefing at your council

• Opportunity for councillors to consider fraud detection performance, compared to similar local authorities;

• Reviews current counter fraud strategy and priorities;

• Discuss local and national fraud risks;

• Reflect local priorities in a proportionate response to those risks

National Picture 2012/13 Total cases detected107,000, with a value of £178 million (excluding social housing fraud)

Nationally, the number of detected frauds has fallen by 14% since 2011/12 and the value by less than 1%

Other£38.5 million

Council tax discount£19.5 million

Housing benefit and Council tax benefit£120 million

Interpreting fraud detection results

• Contextual and comparative information needed to interpret results

• Detected fraud is indicative, not definitive, of counter fraud performance (Prevention and deterrence should not be overlooked)

• No fraud detected does not mean no fraud committed (Fraud will always be attempted and even with the best prevention measures some will succeed)

• Councils who look for fraud, and look in the right way, will find fraud (There is no such thing as a small fraud, just a fraud that has been detected early)

Your council is highlighted in yellow in the graphs that follow

The local pictureHow your council compares to other County CouncilsTotal detected cases and value 2012/13

Hertfordshire detected: 1 case, valued at £279,202

County Council average: 11 cases, valued at £162,763

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10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

£-

£200,000

£400,000

£600,000

£800,000

£1,000,000

£1,200,000

£1,400,000

£1,600,000

£1,800,000

Detected cases Detected value

County Councils 2012/13Social care fraudDetected cases and detected value

Hertfordshire detected: no casesCounty Council average: 3 cases, valued at £77,003

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5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

£-

£200,000

£400,000

£600,000

£800,000

£1,000,000

£1,200,000

£1,400,000

£1,600,000

£1,800,000

Detected cases Detected value

County Councils 2012/13Schools fraudDetected cases and detected value

Hertfordshire detected: no casesCounty Council average: 1 case, valued at £27,032

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1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

£-

£50,000

£100,000

£150,000

£200,000

£250,000

£300,000

£350,000

Detected cases Detected value

District Councils in your County Council area 2012/13 Council tax (CTAX) discount fraudDetected value and detected value as a percentage of council tax income

Total detected in your county area : 190 cases, valued at £79,632

Average in your county area : 19 cases, valued at £7,963

£-

£10,000

£20,000

£30,000

£40,000

£50,000

£60,000

£70,000

£80,000

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0.020

0.040

0.060

0.080

0.100

0.120

0.140

Detected value Detected value as % CTAX income

Disabled parking (Blue Badge) fraud 2012/13Detected cases by council type and County Councils

Hertfordshire detected: no cases

County Council average: 2 cases

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10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Detected cases

0

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10

15

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45

London Boroughs Metropolitan Districts Unitary Authories County Councils

Average cases by council type

County Councils 2102/13Procurement fraudDetected cases and detected value

Hertfordshire detected: 1 case, valued at £279,202County Council average: 1 case, valued at £16,499

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2

4

6

8

10

12

£-

£50,000

£100,000

£150,000

£200,000

£250,000

£300,000

Detected cases Detected value

County Councils 2012/13Insurance fraudDetected cases and detected value

Hertfordshire detected: no cases

County Council Total: 5 cases, valued at £351,800

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1

2

3

4

£-

£50,000

£100,000

£150,000

£200,000

£250,000

£300,000

£350,000

£400,000

Detected cases Detected value

County Councils 2012/13Economic and third sector support fraudDetected cases and detected value

Hertfordshire detected: no casesCounty Council total: 13 cases, valued at £38,400

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1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

£-

£5,000

£10,000

£15,000

£20,000

£25,000

Detected cases Detected value

County Councils 2012/13Internal fraudDetected cases and detected value

Hertfordshire detected: no casesCounty Council average: 5 cases, valued at £63,811

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5

10

15

20

25

30

£-

£100,000

£200,000

£300,000

£400,000

£500,000

£600,000

£700,000

£800,000

Detected cases Detected value