Issue - meetings
SAFS ANTI-FRAUD PLAN 2023-24 PROGRESS UPDATE
Meeting: 13/03/2024 - Finance, Audit and Risk Committee (Item 36)
36 SAFS ANTI-FRAUD PLAN 2023-24 PROGRESS UPDATE 
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REPORT OF THE SHARED ANTI-FRAUD SERVICE
To review the progress of the Shared Anti-Fraud Services (SAFS) Anti-Fraud Plan 2023-24.
Additional documents:
Decision:
RESOLVED: That the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee noted the progress made by the Shared Anti-Fraud Service on delivering the 2023/24 Anti-Fraud Plan.
Minutes:
Audio recording – 34 minutes 37 seconds
Darren Bowler, Shared Anti-Fraud Service, presented the ‘SAFS Anti-Fraud Plan 2023-24 Progress Update’ and highlighted that:
· There had been 81 referrals for fraud the year 2023-24, these had an even reporting split between staff and public.
· There were 13 cases carried forward into 2023-24 and there were currently 23 cases with investigators.
· They had closed 10 cases and 33 reviews, the majority of the reviews were Council Tax related, and these had a potential value of £42K.
· In February 2024 a case was concluded with the sentence of 20 month imprisonment for a Covid, Bids fraud matter. This case was not yet fully concluded as a financial investigation into the process of crime was still ongoing.
· Regular preventions of fraud campaigns were being supplied with alerts from national and Local Government agencies.
· There had been 677 fraud matches to date from the national fraud exercise. 545 had now been reviewed which had led to a potential value of £69K and had been supported by Officers at North Herts.
· A fraud hub had been running locally and managed by SAFS in conjunction with authorities, this hub had identified 661 matches between quarter 1 and quarter 3 and had reviewed 261 matches with a potential value of £17K.
Councillor Chris Lucas proposed and Councillor Tamsin Thomas seconded and following a vote, it was:
RESOLVED: That the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee noted the progress made by the Shared Anti-Fraud Service on delivering the 2023/24 Anti-Fraud Plan.