Fraud

Fraud against local authorities is estimated to cost as much as £7.8 billion each year. We are committed to taking action against fraud, and will prosecute offenders in serious cases.

Fraud against local authorities is estimated to cost as much as £7.8 billion each year.

Money lost to fraud is funding that cannot be spent on the vital public services that are required throughout our region.

The Council will not tolerate any fraud or corruption against it. We are committed to taking action against fraud, and will prosecute offenders in serious cases.

If someone provides false information or fails to report a change in their circumstances in relation to any service they receive from the council, then they may be committing fraud. This could include:

  • providing false or misleading information in order to obtain funding or support from the Council (such as a council tax or business rates discount, social care support, or other forms of financial assistance)
  • intentionally failing to report a change in circumstances when an entitlement to a discount or financial support should change

Veritau’s counter fraud team investigates fraud committed against the Council, including:

  • Council Tax fraud – fraudulently obtaining discounts or evading liability
  • Business rates fraud – fraudulently obtaining discounts or evading liability
  • Council Tax Support fraud and benefit fraud – claiming such benefits when not entitled to receive
  • Blue Badge and parking permit fraud – misuse or fraudulent obtaining
  • Social care fraud – receiving social care services without providing accurate information about financial circumstances and ability to pay for such services. 

How to report fraud

We encourage members of the public to report all suspected fraud against the Council.

Any information you provide can be reported anonymously. You can contact the counter fraud team at Veritau in the following ways:

By email: counter.fraud@veritau.co.uk

By telephone: 0800 9179 247

By post to: Veritau Fraud, West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO1 6GA

Council Tax fraud

Council tax fraud occurs when someone knowingly gives incorrect or misleading information, or fails to inform us of a change in circumstances in order to pay less or no Council Tax.

For example, they may claim to be the only person living in a house, when more than one person lives there; or they may falsely claim to be a student, when they're not.

It's also an offence to claim a Single Person Discount for a property that's not your main home.

For further guidance, see our Council Tax pages.

Non-domestic (business) rates fraud

Business rates fraud occurs when a person attempts to gain a relief or exemption from business rates or a business grant that they're not entitled to, either by making a false statement or failing to disclose information relating to the location and size of their business.

To find out about rates relief and exemption eligibility criteria, please visit our business rates pages.

Council Tax Support fraud and benefit fraud

The Council wants to make sure that those who claim Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support are getting all the support they are entitled to. We also need to ensure that the system isn’t abused by individuals committing fraud.

Someone may commit fraud by providing information they know to be incorrect, or intentionally not reporting a change in circumstances. This could include information relating to savings, income, or people living in the household.

Housing Benefit fraud is investigated by the Department for Work and Pensions.

We will share any information with them that we receive about the benefits they pay. Alternatively you can contact the National Benefit Fraud Hotline.

Blue Badge and parking permit fraud

It is a criminal offence to display a Blue Badge unless:

  • the badge holder is in the vehicle
  • the vehicle is being parked at the location where the badge holder is being picked up or dropped off

It is also an offence for someone to obtain a resident’s parking permit for an address that they do not live at, or use a visitor permit if they are not visiting the stated property at the time of use.

Social care fraud

Adult Care Services help ensure that residents have the support they need to remain independent for as long as possible.

Fraud can occur when:

  • someone fails to declare their income or savings during a financial assessment
  • someone managing a direct payment misuses the money provided to help meet an adult’s care needs
  • an adult with care and support needs is subjected to financial abuse

Fraud prevention and data matching exercises

We also carry out regular fraud prevention and data matching exercises to protect ourselves against fraud.

Our data matching exercises (which involve comparing computer records held by different organisations or systems) includes the government’s National Fraud Initiative and other local initiatives.

Where necessary, we also share information with the Department for Work and Pensions, other councils and relevant organisations, in order to prevent and detect fraud.