Councils report fraud savings

Benefit fraudsters have conned Blackburn with Darwen council out of almost £1million in the past two years, it has been revealed.

There were 717 cases, costing the authority a total of £918,349, according to figures released under the Freedom of Information Act.

Bosses said they tried to recover the money lost ‘in every case’, with 65 prosecutions, 105 financial penalties given out and 122 people formally cautioned.

The council would not release specific information about cases.

It said most of the scams were spotted either by benefits staff or by cross-referencing with other public services and Government departments.

Bromley meanwhile say a recent National Fraud Initiative exercise that involved cross-checking information between public authorities has resulted in them identifying £598,276 in fraud and errors.

Of interest to us is that:

• £257,336 was wrongly claimed in council tax and housing benefits. Bromley say the claimants concerned will be prosecuted, cautioned and pay penalties in addition to repaying the money to the Council.

• £243,477 was wrongly claimed in 25% discounts for a single person household. Council tax discounts will be clawed back from 743 Bromley residents who do not live on their own. No mention of penalties here, though.

• Bromley has stopped a massive 866 blue badges for clients who are deceased and a further 91 cases of concessionary travel passes.