Public Sector

A new task force has been assembled by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to help those who are missing out on benefits because of Universal Credit claimants. A total of 600 new staff have been recruited to fight fraud and errors in the system.

According to Civil Service World, the Swindon-based employees will be part of a team carrying out "targeted case reviews" of Universal Credit claims across the country. It is hoped by 2027 to 2028 that fraud across the benefits system will be drastically cut down, reports BirminghamLive.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/dwp-universal-credit-fraud-crackdown-as-5bn-is-stolen-in-false-claims/ar-AA1icU4d?ocid=socialshare

The Department for Work and Pensions is setting up a new base in Swindon that will house 600 staff tasked with cutting down on fraud and error in Universal Credit payments.

https://www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/article/dwp-new-base-universal-credit-fraud-error-skforce

She said a Labour government would appoint a ‘Covid corruption commissioner’ to ‘chase down those who have ripped off the taxpayer’.

Rachel Reeves echoed Margaret Thatcher as she vowed to go after those who profited from the “carnival of waste” during the Covid-19 pandemic.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2023/10/09/rachel-reeves-echoes-thatcher-as-she-vows-to-recover-money-lost-to-fraud-during-pandemic/

A former prominent headteacher who abused his position of trust by defrauding a Black Country school out of thousands of pounds has been ordered to pay up to the tune of almost £200,000.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/crime/2023/10/06/former-headteacher-of-dudley-school-ordered-to-pay-over-190000-back-for-fraud/

A string of posts on social media have claimed that Rishi Sunak wrote off £14.9 billion lost to personal protective equipment (PPE) fraud.

One user on X (formerly Twitter) posted on 11 September: “Rishi Sunak has decided that the £14.9bn of PPE fraud cannot be investigated and has written it all off.”

A Thanet district councillor has been referred to Action Fraud for allegedly not declaring a settlement agreement with the council.

Cllr Steve Albon (Lab), cabinet member for cleansing and coastal services at Thanet District Council (TDC), was referred to the fraud reporting service by the authority’s standards assessment sub-committee.

https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2023/09/29/thanet-councillor-referred-to-action-fraud-simply-as-a-precaution/

An annual report by Veritau said 20 investigations were completed as a result relating to social care fraud, misuse of disabled blue badges, debt evasion, abuse of small business rate relief and alleged covid-19 business grant fraud. More than £25,000 worth of funds fraudulently obtained by members of the public were identified for potential recovery by the council.

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/more-40-suspected-fraud-incidents-073618553.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr

Department for Work and Pensions permanent secretary Peter Schofield has warned MPs that a huge push to reduce the level of benefit fraud – involving thousands of new recruits – will be offset by a projected 5%-a-year growth in illegitimate claims.

https://www.civilserviceworld.com//news/article/dwp-perm-sec-flags-difficulty-of-reducing-benefit-fraud-to-prepandemic-levels

The Public Sector Fraud Authority has claimed to have surpassed its target for saving money for taxpayers over its first year in operation.

It has reported savings of £311 million compared with a target of £180 million when it was launched in August of last year, attributing the success to the use of AI and data analytics, the comparison of datasets from more than 1,000 public bodies, and the use of counter fraud flags.

A fraud investigation has launched at Guildford Borough Council following “an issue” within the housing maintenance department.

It is reported staff have been suspended, contracts terminated and possible fraud is being looked in to.