Fraud investigation

We can all help in the fight to stop housing and Council Tax Benefit fraud, call any of the numbers to report an incident:

National hotline: 0800 328 6340
Textphone: 0800 328 6341
Local hotline: 0115 907 1042

All calls are treated in the strictest confidence.

Anonymous calls are accepted.

Or you could download and complete the fraud referral form, again this can be done anonymously.

We have a statutory duty under section 151 of the Local Government Finance Act 1972 to make arrangements for the proper administration of their financial affairs; this includes the prevention and detection of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit fraud.

We have a dedicated Benefit Investigation Unit responsible for the investigation of suspected fraud. It is also responsible for the investigation of suspected cases of Income Support and Jobseekers Allowance fraud under the Social Security Administration Act of 1992 (as amended by The Social Security Fraud Act 2001).

We aim to investigate these cases and make recommendations about its findings to the Benefits Section for adjudication. In this way it maintains its independence.

We are committed to the prevention and detection of benefit fraud and the protection of public money.

The main objectives are:

Prevention: by establishing systems of control and procedures to seek to ensure that only genuine claims are processed and paid
Detection: by investigating and, where appropriate, recommending the disallowance or reassessment of fraudulent or irregular applications and existing claims
Deterrence: by creating and developing a culture which discourages applicants from making false claims and ensuring that those clients who receive benefit fulfil their responsibilities by means of suitable publicity and overall awareness.

All investigations are carried out in a professional, objective and efficient manner.

A person may be prosecuted without an interview under caution, but this would be very rare and the evidence would have to be overwhelming.

An interview under caution is usually necessary to establish guilty action, knowledge and intent to obtain public funds falsely.

These interviews will be conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

If prosecution is considered appropriate, any overpayment, including any fraudulent overpayment, may be recovered without prejudice.

In all cases we must apply the principles of the European Convention on Human Rights in accordance with the Human Rights Act 1998.

Alternatives to prosecution

When deciding whether a case should be prosecuted in the courts, other alternatives will be considered. This includes cautions and administrative penalties.

Cautions

A formal caution will usually be considered appropriate where there is a fraudulent overpayment is under £2000. The decision to caution the offender will be made in accordance with Home Office Guidelines.

Where the offender refuses a caution, we will proceed with a prosecution. Having accepted a caution, should the offender re-offend, prosecution will be considered.

Administrative penalties

Section 155A of the Social Security Administration Act 1992 as amended by Section 15 of the Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997 allows us to apply a penalty as an alternative to prosecution at 30 per cent of the total overpayment.

Upon accepting the penalty the claimant has 28 days to change their mind.

If a penalty is not accepted or is withdrawn the local authority must be prepared to prosecute, therefore all cases must be up to prosecution standard.

Administrative penalties will generally be considered for fraudulent overpayments of up to £2000 if it is in the public interest. In the majority of these cases we will make an offer of a 30 per cent penalty of the amount of the overpayment. The Penalty amount will be added to the overpayment, which is recoverable.

It should be noted that the offer of a Penalty will be made in a special interview. Penalties can only be offered if the case could be brought to prosecution. The offender will be told at the interview:

It is not an interview under caution
Acceptance of the Penalty is not a declaration of guilt
The recovery of the Penalty will occur in the same way as the recovery of the Overpayment
They have 28 days in which to change their mind should they accept the Penalty, in the event of nonacceptance prosecution may be instituted
Failure to repay the debt or default on instalments will result in them facing civil proceedings for recovery.

All Interviews Under Caution will be conducted by the Benefit Fraud Investigation Officer and any Administrative Penalty interviews will be conducted by an appropriate senior officer.