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Benefit fraud costing Wolverhampton Council £650,000 a year (29 May 2015)

Date: 29/05/2015

Duncan Lewis, Legal News Solicitors, Benefit fraud costing Wolverhampton Council £650,000 a year

A new report has revealed that Wolverhampton Council has lost more than £650,000 as a result of benefit fraud in the last 12 months.

Local publisher the Express and Star reports that, in the 12 months to the end of April this year, the local authority launched a total of 187 investigations into benefit fraud relating to housing tax, council tax and employment allowances – representing a loss of £651,300 to the taxpayer.

In figures compiled in a report by the Counter Fraud Unit – which investigates deception as part of the council's Audit Services – it is revealed that the council prosecuted a total of 32 of the cases, recovering £222,000.
A total of 28 claimants received a penalty – and cautions were handed out in four cases.
However, 123 cases failed to meet the local authority's requirement for a sanction, resulting in a loss of £399,000, the figures show.

Wolverhampton Council’s finance chief Andrew Johnson said:

“The cost of fraud to local government is estimated at a staggering £2.1 billion a year – money which would better be used for providing local services.
“Wolverhampton City Council operates a zero tolerance policy on fraud and corruption.
“We won't hesitate to take action if we suspect fraud has been committed against the council – and as a result, taxpayers – and we will make every effort to recover all monies stolen.
“This is demonstrated by the fact that, in 2014-15, we carried out 187 investigations into cases where claimants either provided inaccurate information in order to fraudulently claim benefits – or failed to inform the council that their circumstances and therefore their entitlement to benefits had changed.
“Wherever possible, we than take whatever steps are available to us to recover any overpayments.”
The report from the Counter Fraud Unit states:
“The council uses intelligence to identify dishonest benefit claimants and to actively pursue the recovery of fraudulently claimed payments – and, where appropriate, penalise the perpetrator.”
As part of a nationwide shake-up Wolverhampton Council’s Housing Benefit fraud team will transfer over to the DWP’s Single Fraud Investigation Service in June.
A counter-fraud App is currently being developed to make it easier for members of the public to report fraud – and is due to be launched later this year.

Duncan Lewis Benefit Fraud Lawyers

Duncan Lewis benefit fraud lawyers can advise at any stage of a charge involving benefit fraud, including benefit fraud charges relating to:

• Child tax credit fraud
• Council tax fraud
• Disability Living Allowance fraud
• Housing Benefit fraud
• Income Support fraud
• Jobseeker’s Allowance fraud
• Pension Credits fraud
• PIP fraud
• Universal Credit fraud
• Working tax credits fraud.

For expert legal advice on benefit fraud charges, call Duncan Lewis benefit fraud lawyers on 020 7923 4020.

For 24/7 help at a police station, call the Duncan Lewis Emergency Hotline on 020 7275 2036.