Issue - meetings

The Shared Anti-Fraud Service (SAFS) Officer introduced the report and highlighted the main points to Members.

The Chairman asked what proactive fraud referrals were and if the cost of membership to SAFS was offset by prevented fraud or recovery of funds in discovered fraud.

The SAFS Officer said that proactive referrals were cases in which Officers had identified fraud without an external referral, such as by data matching. Estimated fraud losses/savings from 22 live cases carried forward from 2019/20 were £267,000, which in itself significantly outweighed the cost of the Council’s membership. Lots of work, such as face-to-face interviews, had been delayed and meant there was a backlog of cases. However, Members could be assured these cases would be investigated thoroughly in due course.

The Chairman asked how often the Council’s whistle-blowing policy was reviewed and by whom, and whether contractors were also monitored. He also asked about the progress of the implementation of the Herts FraudHub.

The Head of Legal and Democratic Services said that although he did not have the details to hand, Members could be assured the whistle-blowing policy would be reviewed cyclically by the appropriate service and be presented to the relevant Committee for approval if changes were required.

The SAFS Officer said that SAFS would carry out work to ensure that all of the Council’s processes in terms of tendering and engaging with contractors were compliant in that contracts contained clauses relating to fraud and corruption, and contractors had similar policies. Procurement Officers would play a significant role in this process. The Council’s membership to the Herts FraudHub has recently been agreed. This meant that data from East Herts could be contributed to the hub, and data matching could be carried out more regularly in key high-risk areas.

It was moved by Councillor Ward-Booth and seconded by Councillor Alder that the recommendations, as detailed, be approved. After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, the motion was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED – that (A) the Anti-Fraud Plan 2021/22 be approved; and

(B) the report be noted.