Agenda item

6.1

The Committee received a report from the Senior Finance Manager which informed the Audit and Standards Committee of the outcomes of the work undertaken by Internal Audit on fraud and corruption during 2022/23, and the proposed work for 2023/24.

6.2

The Finance Manager (Stephen Bower) explained that the Council undertook a total of 29 reactive cases in 2022/23. He added that the cases were increasingly becoming more complex.

6.3

The Finance Manager explained there was an increase in criminal activity such fishing and scams although there were processes in place to mitigate this and they were also working with the Police on this.

6.4

The Finance Manager mentioned there was a team within the Housing service which dealt with Housing Fraud and that was also highlighted within the report. He mentioned that Bank Mandate Fraud was also a common type of fraud, and that there were now further controls in place to reduce this.

6.5

The Finance Manager explained there had been a small number of Whistleblowing cases in 2022/23. He mentioned that he had regular meetings with the Head of Human Resources (HR) and the General Counsel to look at ways of making employees feel more comfortable in sharing this type of information.

6.6

The Finance Manager explained there was a new Fraud E-Learning package introduced this year. It was a requirement for Managers to complete this learning, in which 52% of Managers had completed it so far.

6.7

The Finance Manager explained there was a checklist within the report, which identified the controls in place for different areas susceptible to fraud.

6.8

Members of the Committee asked questions and the following responses were provided: -

The Chair mentioned the Council, over the past 4 years, had 6 cases of Fraud, 4 which led to dismissal and 2 which led to action other than dismissal. The Chair mentioned how 1 case was too many although believed this to be a small number in comparison to the size of this organisation therefore thanked Officers for their work on this.

6.9

The Finance Manager explained that the Fraud E-Learning package was a general training module rolled out to all employees. He added that there was more specialist training rolled out to certain areas within the Council, which were more susceptible to fraud.

6.10

The Finance Manager explained there was a lot of cases relating to time sheet fraud and similar issues due to employees working from home although there were processes in place to mitigate this.

6.11

The Finance Manager explained that there had not been any recent fraud cases which lasted an excessive period of time. He believed the Council’s controls were to a high standard.

6.12

The Chair referred to the Whistleblowing pilot mentioned in the report, she mentioned that the Councils Whistleblowing process would be reviewed at a future Audit & Standards Committee meeting.

6.13

The Chair referred to the delays in rolling out Blue Badges. The Head of Customer Services (Paul Taylor) explained there was multiple stages within the process of applying for a Blue Badge. He mentioned that certain applications were permitted easier than others and met the 28 days turn around. Although when someone does not automatically qualify for a Blue Badge, and their application is denied, they are then subject to appeal that decision. He stated that the issues around delays came from that appeals stage as 5 Senior Officers were overseeing this and unfortunately had other circumstances which led to back log of applications. He added that if anyone was subject to a fine whilst their Blue Badge application was still being reviewed and then was authorised, the fine would be removed.

6.14

RESOLVED: That the Audit and Standards Committee Members (1) noted the content of this report; (2) noted that the Council’s policies in relation to fraud and corruption have been reviewed and fulfil the required governance arrangements for the Council; and (3) noted the completed checklist for those responsible for governance (Appendix A).