The Audit Commission report on ‘Protecting the public purse’ – fighting fraud against local government highlighted that fraud is costing the UK public sector more than £20 billion a year and local government more than £2 billion. Investigator David Kearns, pictured, of Expert Investigations writes.
However the average value of each fraud was up by 15 per cent to £1,664. Housing benefit and council tax benefit frauds accounting for £120m of the total revealed.
The Audit Commission have claimed that three quarters of authorities are not as effective as they should be in tackling fraud and that the council’s ability to investigate fraud is reducing due to cuts and other internal issues.
If this is the case it is my opinion as Managing Director of Expert Investigations, a Commercial Detective Investigations Agency, that if fraudulent activity is so prevalent then there must be extra provision allocated for local authorities and governments to use external investigative resources to help fight fraud and to assist in saving the government large amounts of money.
The report also suggested that councils should look to detect more non benefit fraud cases, and if their capacity to investigate is reducing, more prioritisation should be given into what they investigate and ensure they have the right skills to do so. I wonder where authorities will go to find this knowledge and skill, to ensure that investigations are carried out lawfully and effectively. As investigation takes skill, to be able to have a suspect under surveillance and observation without being caught, to have the resources available to deploy vehicle trackers or install covert camera systems and use computer data forensics plus the expertise to carry out undercover or general investigation capabilities.
It is also important to note the new Social housing fraud Act that has just come into action, which now gives authorities the power to prosecute those who unlawfully sublet their social housing. According to government estimates at least 100,000 social housing properties are the subject of housing fraud. This is a lot of investigative work that will need to be carried out plus high quality evidence is needed to be gathered to enable a successful prosecution in a court to help keep costs down. If local authorities and government utilised the skills that Expert Investigations can provide more often, then this would actually save authorities both time and money in the long run plus provide a greater success rate. It is apparent and already noted that there are gaps in the council’s expertise to deal with different fraud types, therefore partnering with experts in the field of investigations, such as Expert Investigations should surely be made.
My team of investigators are all former police detectives. We have the training and skill to tackle any issues that should arise. Results are quickly gathered with evidence given in the same way as the police would provide it. Investigating an issue with a full guarantee that any evidence gathered could be used in a court of law to prosecute and even get money back, to put into the authorities pot.
We have assisted many housing associations and local authorities over the years to tackle many types of thefts and frauds and we are aware of the constraints on local authorities especially budgetary. We can assist and support staff with any requirement by supplying suitably trained staff for support and specific expertise.
I suggest that more money is made available so that authorities can access external experts like ourselves to tackle frauds. The more success in fighting fraud we have the less fraud will happen!
For more about Expert Investigations visit – www.expert-investigations.co.uk
