According to a study by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), local authorities have detected 22 per cent more cases of council tax fraud compared to last year.
The 2019 CIPFA Fraud and Corruption Tracker (CFaCT) estimates that UK local authorities identified and/or prevented 71,000 cases of council tax fraud in 2018/19, a rise from 57,894 cases in 2017/18.
Valued at £30.6m, this included 44,051 cases of Single Person Discount (SPD) fraud and 8,973 cases of Council Tax Reduction (CTR) fraud.
This year’s report also showed that the estimated loss to councils from business rate fraud fell to £8m from £10m the previous year. Overall, business rate fraud represented only 2pc of the total number of fraud cases detected or prevented in 2018/19. For a summary of the report, visit the CIPFA website.
Rob Whiteman, Chief Executive of CIPFA, says: “Fraud continues to be a critical issue for local authorities. Many councils have worked diligently to implement new counter-fraud strategies, and the figures tell us those efforts are working.
“The unlawful diversion of funds away from local authorities only adds further stress on vastly underfunded public services. The sector is moving in the right direction, but only a greater focus on collaboration and preventative measures will help create long-lasting change.”
The survey is based on responses from 142 local authorities. An estimated total volume and value of fraud was calculated for all local authorities in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Visit https://www.cipfa.org/.
