Agenda item

To consider the report of the Assistant Head of Finance (Revenues and Risk)

A report was submitted by the Assistant Head of Finance (Revenue and Risk) that updated the Committee on the Council's anti-fraud and anti-corruption arrangements, progress on the work programme for the next three years, together with national developments in the context of fraud against the public sector. The Members were reminded of the fact that Gwynedd Council's Anti-fraud, Anti-corruption and Anti-bribery Strategy 2019 - 2022 work programme had been adopted by the Committee on 14 February 2019.

It was emphasised that Council officers were not currently investigating allegations of fraud against it. Nevertheless, since 1 April 2019, it was reported that the Benefits Service had referred 22 Housing Benefit cases to the Department of Work and Pensions (UK Government) for further investigation. It was noted that the Department for Work and Pensions did not investigate any Council Tax Relief fraud, and therefore definite steps had been taken to develop skills internally to investigate this fraud. It was reiterated that three benefits officers and three taxation officers were currently working on the CIPFA Accredited Counter Fraud Technician qualification, which was a significant investment for the Council’s fraud prevention processes.

In the context of data use, reference was made to the act of assessing the possibility of improved use of data in order to identify and investigate fraud. It was reiterated that the current plan to identify and investigate fraud was the Taxation Service's practice to review some of the discounts and exceptions permitted to the County's Council Tax accounts. In a research investigation, it was highlighted that the third most common type of fraud committed by adults in Wales was false claims for a Single Person Discount. It was noted that 18,000 Gwynedd homes received a Council Tax single person discount and, in order to ensure that every exception and discount granted was accurate, Gwynedd Council would work with the Datatank company to review discount claimants. If inaccurate claims were discovered, the Council would terminate the claims, write to the tax-payers and attempt to recover the discount.

Attention was drawn to the report of the Auditor General which was published in June 2019, which provided an illustration of the types of fraud that could be committed against the public sector in Wales. It was noted that the report was provided at the request of the National Assembly's Public Accounts Committee, so that it was possible to report on the arrangements in place within the different types of public bodies. The Auditor General's proposal to carry out a further review (stage 2) to investigate how effective fraud prevention arrangements were in practice was approved, as well as making recommendations for improvement. It was reported that it was intended to publish stage 2 of the review in June 2020, with a suggestion that the Committee should receive a report on the outcome of the work and any matters that were specific to Gwynedd.

In response to a question regarding fraud relating to the transfer of self-serviced property out of the Council Tax System, it was noted that it was the responsibility of the Valuer's Office to gather information and come to a decision on such fraud matters. In an observation with regard to the need to verify the work and decision of the valuer, it was noted that government officers could be contacted to make further enquiries.

RESOLVED to accept the report as well as to note the timetable of the Wales Audit Office to report on stage 2 results of the Auditor General's review.