The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety confirmed that the Strategy has not changed and it will not until the end of this financial year. The Counter Fraud team separated from NATIS (National Investigation Service) last year to enable one function to look internally and for one to be an externally facing body. This has seen positive results since the separation, with 40 referrals being received in quarters 1-3 and 41 referrals being received in quarter 4 alone. Engagement between the Counter Fraud team and other internal departments is working really well.

·            152 Fraud alerts were sent out to internal and external partners warning of fraud trends or known fraud attacks

·            128 Intelligence reports were sent to other Law Enforcement agencies, assisting in their criminal investigations

·            The team was able to prove £239,300 worth of fraud against individuals or companies

·            The CFI enabled other departments within the Authority to save £94,000 through the recovery of 4 social housing properties.

·            81 reports of suspected fraud was received by the CFI, valued at £2,247,900

The CFI Team now has a counter fraud manager in place and they will take responsibility for the work plan.

Members queried the date for the UK Accreditation Service inspection date.

The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety confirmed the police and IOS will deal with that separately and he will confirm the date once confirmed.

Members queried that the Fraud Heath check on social care application has been deferred. The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety confirmed they are completing that.

Members queried the priority of insider threats in Local Government and what that means.

The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety confirmed it does range from any fraud committed by a Council employee in their role for example, if a housing officer manipulates a waiting list for their friend it would be classified as an insider threat. It could be manipulating the procurement process and tender to ensure someone gets the contract.

Members queried what action is taking to see if companies we are looking at are legitimate. The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety clarified that is not something covered by the counter fraud team, it is a due diligence check and would sit with another department such as the Procurement department.

The Chair highlighted that cybercrime is listed as a priority. The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety confirmed that Digital and forensic crime sits within NATIS. NATIS still works with the emergency planning and business continuity team and IT at the Council so it can put in plans to deal with a cyber-attack.

The Chair queried if there were any plans to put in the Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation. The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety responded that he would need to speak to the digital team for an update. The Head of Information Management confirmed that the ICT department are looking to move the Cyber Essentials accreditation forward and are close to completing it.

ACTION: The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety is to report back to the Committee as to where the IT department are at with the Cyber Essentials Accreditation.

Charles Clarke highlighted that the largest part of fraud seems to be housing fraud and he queried if a particular campaign on this is planned now or in the future. The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety stated that the team work closely with the housing teams and are already looking at proactive operations. There is no campaign planned at this time but he will take that suggestion away.

Charles Clarke noted that the CFI team generated £136,000 external income in 22/23 and queried if that can that be developed further in 23/24.

The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety clarified that the work with Castle Point Council has been long standing and will continue but they probably will not go out to other Local Authorities. The team is really focussed on looking at internal issues.

Jasdip Nijjar queried how Counter Fraud compares with other Local Authorities and queried if they report in a similar matter. The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety Benchmarking responded that he was unable to answer the question but he does plan to include benchmarking in future reports. The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety stated that benchmarking would usually follow the below categories.

-       How many referrals received?

-       How many crimes solved?

-       How much money did you get back and or save ?

ACTION: Add to the proactive workplan that benchmarking will be added in future reports

Members queried if there is enough staff to deal with housing fraud.

The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety confirmed that abandonment of properties happens the most, this is where residents may embark on a new relationship but do not want to give up their council home as a safety net. The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety explained they don’t look to take people to court and have a trial but instead encourage them to hand over the keys for the property as the court process often takes time.

Charles Clake queried if the general public can make referrals.

The Assistant Director for Investigation, Enforcement and Community Protection and Safety stated they do accept referrals from residents and councillors and emails , anonymous letters and Crimestoppers referrals were received. There is also an automated web page on the Council’s website – Report it at Thurrock.

RESOLVED:

1.1          The Committee notes the performance of the Counter Fraud & Investigation team in 2022/23.

1.2          The Committee approves the Counter Fraud & Investigation strategy and work plan for 2023/24. The fraud health check application process wil be added to the workplan and future benchmarking will be included in future reports to the Committee.