The vast majority of housing and council tax benefit claimants are honest, however there are a minority who decide to fraudulently claim housing and council tax benefit. To effectively deal with the minority who claim their benefits fraudulently, the Council has a dedicated Benefit Fraud Investigation Team (fraud team) within the Benefit Services Division.
The fraud team consists of a fraud manager, 4 fraud investigators and 1 clerical officer. The fraud team is responsible for undertaking all benefit fraud investigations. The fraud team boasts an impressive 100 years of benefits assessment or benefit fraud experience.
The fraud team will promote an anti-fraud culture and the fraud manager will ensure that the fraud team is adequately resourced to investigate cases to prosecution standards. Performance is monitored and progress is reported on a monthly basis to the Assistant Director of Finance and quarterly to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
The fraud manager also has responsibility for two benefit processing officers who are dedicated to dealing with the re-assessment of fraudulent claims and importantly the recovery of fraudulently claimed benefit.
Both the fraud manager and fraud investigators are trained to national standards in the management and investigation of benefit fraud.
The fraud team deal with 2 types of benefit fraud referral, reactive and pro-active.
Reactive Investigations - These are where the fraud team respond to a report of suspected fraud e.g. from a member of the public.
The fraud team risk assesses all referrals, this ensures referrals are investigated, in accordance with it's risk.
The fraud team will:
Establish whether benefit has been claimed correctly
Identify instances of benefit fraud
Prosecute where appropriate, or administer alternatives to prosecutions in accordance with Councils Benefit Fraud Prosecution Policy
Identify and report weaknesses in the process for claiming and processing benefit claims
Pro-active Investigations - These are whereby the fraud team instigate fraud investigations on specific groups of benefit claimants, these investigations or operations are undertaken where information suggests this group of claimants are suspected of committing benefit fraud.
The fraud team will undertake pro-active activity such as:
The fraud team will investigate potential fraudulent claims resulting from data matches. Data matches derive from various sources including;
Various government databases
Various Council and other public sector databases
Between local West Midland Metropolitan Borough Council databases
Databases within Dudley Council
High-risk groups involving both claimants and/or their landlords/agents
The fraud team participates in joint working with other organisations, such as the Department for Work and Pensions Fraud Investigation Service (FIS), the Police and other Local Authorities.
The Council is empowered to investigate and prosecute offences against certain national DWP benefits alongside Housing and Council Tax Benefit. This will mean that where appropriate, the Council can investigate and prosecute on behalf of the DWP their benefits such as income support and job seekers allowance.
The Council will publicise the details of successfully prosecuted benefit fraudsters and the Benefit Fraud Hotline number through:
Local media
Posters
Internet/Intranet
Each year a number of people who have been interviewed by fraud investigators will be sent a customer satisfaction survey form. The form is designed to give people an opportunity to comment on the fraud investigators manner and approach during the interview.
