The purpose of the report of the Director of Finance and IT (Document “I”) is to present the annual performance information, as required by the Committee, and to provide assurance that the Council’s counter fraud arrangements are effective.

Recommended –

That the Committee notes the performance information contained within this report.

                        (Tracey Banfield / Harry Singh - 01274 434794/437256)

Resolved-

That the performance information contained within Document “I” be noted.

                                                                        (Harry Singh – 01274 437256)

The purpose of the report of the Director of Finance and IT (Document “I”) was to present the annual performance information, as required by the Committee, and to provide assurance that the Council’s counter fraud arrangements were effective.

The Chair thanked the Corporate Investigation Unit in the work it does in the prevention and detection of fraud.

Members sought further clarification in relation to various aspects of the report.

In response to a Members question it was reported that the Unit did not get involved in the recovery stage and could take number of years before the money is paid back to the Council but the recovery of the monies was actively chased.

It was reported that there had been cases of fraud relating to the Covid 19 grants paid out which would be detailed in a future report to the Committee. Officers were actively seeking recovery of such monies.

 In response to a Members question it was reported that in addition to carrying out reactive investigations in response to referrals received the Corporate Investigation Unit also carried out investigations proactively, for example, the team worked with Parking Services Officers on Disabled Persons Blue Badge “action days”. These action days were to ensure that badges were being used correctly and were a tool to obtain intelligence on persistent misuse, for responding to citizen complaints of misuse and targeting of hotspots where misuse/abuse was known to take place.

During 2019/20, 16 “action days” took place, where up to 800 badges on display were examined and verified and 30 investigations into misuse/abuse were launched.

The Chair emphasised the importance of protecting the public purse and the prevention and detection of fraud at a time when the Council was financially struggling and that the financial support was meant for people suffering hardship.

Resolved-

That the performance information contained within Document “I” be noted.