Agenda item

With reference to the previous meeting of 9 March 2016 of the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Committee, article 23, the Committee had before it a report by the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided an update on activity by the Corporate Governance Investigation Team (CIT) during 2015/16 and presented a response to the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) report by Audit Scotland.

The report recommended:

that the Committee -

(a)       note the Fraud Statistics Annual Report in Appendix 1;

(b)       note the response to the NFI report from Audit Scotland in Appendix 2 in respect of the report itself in Appendices 3a and b;

(c)        endorse the approach to reviewing working practices on NFI as set out in section 3 of Appendix 2;

(d)       agree to receive a report on the Fraud Business Plan in June 2016 and 6 monthly updates on Fraud and NFI activity from September 2016; and

(e)       continue to endorse and sponsor progress towards the good practice measures contained in the National Fraud Authority Self-Assessment Checklist and paper ‘Protecting Public Resources in Scotland – The strategic approach to fighting fraud and error’.

Councillor Flynn sought clarification regarding the sharing of information with Police Scotland in instances of fraud. The Corporate Investigation Manager clarified that if there is enough evidence then it is passed to Police Scotland to decide if there is a case to answer.

Councillor Cameron sought clarification regarding 40 cases of potential fraud that were not investigated due to resourcing and the major investigations that were being undertaken at the time. The Corporate Investigation Manager responded that they have more referrals coming in than can manage and have to prioritise, however the Revenue and Benefits Manager clarified that all housing benefit fraud cases are passed to DWP and investigated.

Councillor Cooney sought clarification on the spike in referrals during July and August 2015. The Corporate Investigation Manager responded that the department now has a wider remit and this was the first time the information had been put together so a year from now will be able to see if a one off occurrence or if a pattern exists.

Councillor Flynn sought clarification on whether the 3 major internal investigations undertaken by CIT had been referred to Police Scotland. The Corporate Investigation Manager responded that one was not referred due to any evidence.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note the Fraud Statistics Annual Report in Appendix 1;

(ii)        to note the response to the NFI report from Audit Scotland in Appendix 2 in respect of the report itself in Appendices 3a and b;

(iii)       to endorse the approach to reviewing working practices on NFI as set out in section 3 of Appendix 2;

(iv)       to receive a report on the Fraud Business Plan in June 2016 and 6 monthly updates on Fraud and NFI activity from September 2016; and

(v)        to continue to endorse and sponsor progress towards the good practice measures contained in the National Fraud Authority Self-Assessment Checklist and paper ‘Protecting Public Resources in Scotland – The strategic approach to fighting fraud and error’.