To submit the report of the Senior Manager Revenues and Risk.
Minutes:
Submitted - the report of the Senior Revenue
and Risk Manager that gave
an update on the Council's anti-fraud and anti-corruption arrangements together with the work programme for the next three
years.
It was noted that although 'Risk of Fraud, Bribery and/or Corruption' was considered a low risk the Council continued to be aware of the risk and the Council
had suffered as a result of
major fraud in the past. Further details were given on
the contents of the report.
It was explained that
the Committee would receive regular reports (approximately every six months)
on the Council's anti-fraud, anti-corruption and anti-bribery efforts.
A member noted that the fraud linked to Express Motors had been
shocking and it would be useful to have a sub-group of the Committee to look in detail and
to learn lessons from this case.
Reference was made to the Strategy and it was asked how regular
did workshops take place with relevant
officers to discuss issues that arise,
apparent risks and to share good
practice. It was asked which agencies the Council cooperated with and how
regularly the Strategy was reviewed.
In response
to the above observations,
the Senior Revenue and Risk Manager noted:
·
That the Committee
had already received a report on the Express Fraud at its meeting
on 29 November 2018 and had discussed the matter in detail.
At the time, the Environment
Department was asked for a report regarding
mitigating the risks to the
Council of committing to a new agreement with
the Welsh Government's Concessionary
Fares Scheme. That it was a decision for the members if they wished
to discuss the two cases of fraud in public transport
at the Controls Improvement Working
Group, however, there was a
danger that by focusing on this
fraud that they would lose
sight of other risks bearing in
mind that the Council has a wide
range of services.
·
The Council
did not have a specific anti-fraud resource, the work will be completed
within the resources with internal audit
undertaking the research.
It was intended to conduct regular workshops with officers from
different services such as audit, benefits, tax and
others, looking at risks that arose
from the experiences of other authorities.
·
Although the Response
Plan had not been revised since 2013, it continued to be
fit for purpose with only changes
in job titles.
·
The Wales Audit
Office led on the National Fraud
Initiative that is held every two
years by comparing agency data and if anything was highlighted then the relevant agency would be contacted. It was noted that once
there was sufficient evidence to be presented to the police following an investigation by internal audit then the information would be referred to the Monitoring Officer.
A member noted that he was of the opinion that consideration
needed to be given to the two cases of fraud
in the public transport area in the Controls Improvement Working Group.
A member asked if there was a system in place to respond
when incidents of fraud occurred. In response, the Senior Revenue and Risk Manager
noted that this was the purpose of the Response Plan. It was noted that managers and
officers were in the best position
to discover fraud and awareness needed
to be raised in order that they
were alert to the risk of fraud and
to be willing to report on possible fraud.
There was also an external risk
from companies sending false invoices.
In response
to a further observation in the context of collaboration with other agencies, the Senior Revenue and Risk
Manager noted that as part of the National Fraud Initiative there was a contact point in each
agency and these could be used with fraud
outside the initiative as
well as a starting point.
A member gave thanks for the report. Reference was made to the fact that Council Tax
fraud was not highlighted in the document. The member asked if
housing benefit fraud was relevant in terms of the response plan as the Government
had the responsibility. In response, the Senior Revenue and Risk Manager
noted that there was no reference
to Council Tax fraud in the document
and consideration would be given to add this. He added
that it was intended to place more focus on the Council Tax Reductions Scheme over the next few years.
He explained that it was
the UK Government's Work and Pensions Department
who had been responsible for investigating housing benefits fraud for approximately four years. He elaborated that the Council had a contact point in the Work
and Pensions Department and cases were referred
to their attention, however, it was not as efficient
as when the work was undertaken internally, with a requirement to complete a number of forms.
A member noted that it was impossible to get rid of fraud completely, however, the Strategy and the response plan confirmed that there were
processes in place to prevent fraud and they
should be approved.
RESOLVED to accept the report as an explanation of the Council's arrangements for investigating and preventing fraud and corruption within the system and to approve the Anti-Fraud, Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery Strategy and the Fraud and Corruption Response Plan.
Supporting documents: