Public Sector

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) boss has said investigators will continue to 'hunt down’ and convict people committing benefit fraud. Five people who stole £53.9 million through fabricated benefit claims have been brought to justice in England and Wales’ largest benefit fraud case.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/dwp-vows-down-people-fraud-092444774.html

New council chief wants to show ‘how every pound given by the taxpayer is being used’

The new joint chief executive for Waverley and Guildford borough councils said he wants no financial “surprises” and to “draw a line under” the fraud investigation into the latter authority.

https://www.farnhamherald.com/news/waverley-and-guildford-councils-new-ceo-wants-to-draw-a-line-under-fraud-investigation-677716

Police investigating allegations of fraud at Guildford Borough Council have arrested a man in his 50s.

The investigation, led by the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU), was launched after a £18.5 million overspend on two housing contracts came to light.

Plans to use AI to check millions of bank accounts have been warned are a "step too far". The proposals are aimed at tracking down fraudsters and benefit claimants who have been paid too much

However campaigners have raised serious concerns over the plans which will seek people to have either claimed too much or who have been mistakenly overpaid. More than 40 organisations including Disability Rights UK and Age UK say the Government should scrap the plans.

At the NAO we are making it our business to invest in how we help and hold government to account for fighting fraud. Billions of pounds are at stake here. So it’s an absolutely critical issue.

https://www.civilserviceworld.com/in-depth/article/delving-under-the-surface-how-government-can-save-billions-by-tackling-fraud-and-error

A care company director has been jailed for defrauding her local council's Covid-19 response fund by submitting false invoices.

Caroline Hunt, 54, who ran Hunt Healthcare Group, submitted £151,000 in fraudulent invoices to Essex County Council between May and October 2020.

A council has made a High Court "fraud" claim against a businessman and a firm he ran.

Thurrock Council was left with debts of more than £1bn after a series of investments largely in solar farms.

A council spokesman said proceedings had been issued against Liam Kavanagh and Rockfire Capital.

The Cabinet Office has announced plans for a number of AI discovery projects over the next 12 months to identify new ways to detect fraud against the public sector.

Minister of State at the Cabinet Office Baroness Neville-Rolfe said the first project will use AI to identify entities registering and bankrupting successive companies to avoid paying debts, known as ‘phoenixing’.

All of the projects will tested by the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA) in accordance with the Government’s Generative AI Framework.

Fraud continues to be a significant and growing issue across all sectors in the UK, with stats showing that hundreds of millions are being lost every year; unfortunately, the public sector is far from an outlier to this trend. What can technology do?

https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/using-technology-to-help-local-authorities-to-counter-fraudsters/174708/

Public Accounts Committee chair questions commitments to transparency and flags "vagueness" on investment for recovery work.

Cabinet Office permanent secretary Sir Alex Chisholm and Treasury perm sec James Bowler have been urged to be more transparent over the challenges government faces in battling fraud and corruption, following a report by watchdog MPs.

https://www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/article/perm-secs-get-flak-over-action-to-combat-fraud-and-corruption