A guide to fraud and how we can prevent it - Westminster City Council
A guide to fraud and how we can prevent it - Westminster City Council
A guide to fraud and how we can prevent it - Westminster City Council
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Housing Benef<strong>it</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Council</strong> Tax Benef<strong>it</strong> –<br />
a <strong>guide</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>fraud</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>how</strong> <strong>we</strong> <strong>can</strong> <strong>prevent</strong> <strong>it</strong><br />
This leaflet explains what<br />
Housing Benef<strong>it</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>Council</strong> Tax Benef<strong>it</strong> <strong>fraud</strong><br />
is <strong>and</strong> <strong>how</strong> <strong>we</strong> <strong>can</strong> work<br />
<strong>to</strong>gether <strong>to</strong> <strong>prevent</strong> <strong>it</strong>.<br />
The rules are the same<br />
whichever area you live in.<br />
If you don’t know which<br />
council covers the area<br />
your property is in, you<br />
<strong>can</strong> find this information<br />
on your council tax bill.<br />
What is Housing Benef<strong>it</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>Council</strong> Tax Benef<strong>it</strong> <strong>fraud</strong>?<br />
Benef<strong>it</strong> <strong>fraud</strong> is when someone makes a claim for<br />
benef<strong>it</strong> based on information that they know is<br />
false or inaccurate. A claim could also become<br />
<strong>fraud</strong>ulent if the person claiming benef<strong>it</strong> has not<br />
<strong>to</strong>ld us about a change in circumstances that<br />
would reduce the amount of benef<strong>it</strong> they are<br />
ent<strong>it</strong>led <strong>to</strong>. Sometimes, only the person claiming<br />
benef<strong>it</strong> is responsible for benef<strong>it</strong> <strong>fraud</strong>, <strong>and</strong><br />
sometimes their l<strong>and</strong>lord, an employer, a<br />
representative or someone else who helps <strong>to</strong><br />
fill in the benef<strong>it</strong> application form may have<br />
helped them.<br />
Benef<strong>it</strong> <strong>fraud</strong> is a criminal offence. If <strong>we</strong> think<br />
someone is claiming benef<strong>it</strong> they are not ent<strong>it</strong>led<br />
<strong>to</strong>, our dedicated team will investigate them.<br />
If <strong>we</strong> find evidence <strong>to</strong> prove that a person is<br />
comm<strong>it</strong>ting <strong>fraud</strong>, <strong>we</strong> may prosecute them, make<br />
them pay a fine or issue them w<strong>it</strong>h a formal<br />
warning, called a caution. In any case, <strong>we</strong> would<br />
be looking <strong>to</strong> claim back the <strong>to</strong>tal amount of<br />
benef<strong>it</strong> which has been overpaid. In certain<br />
circumstances, <strong>we</strong> may also confiscate other<br />
money or assets if <strong>we</strong> believe they are the<br />
proceeds of crime.<br />
Why is <strong>it</strong> important <strong>to</strong> s<strong>to</strong>p<br />
Housing Benef<strong>it</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Council</strong> Tax<br />
Benef<strong>it</strong> <strong>fraud</strong>?<br />
Benef<strong>it</strong> <strong>fraud</strong> is costing taxpayers an estimated<br />
£2 billion each year. This is money that could be<br />
spent on other v<strong>it</strong>al services. Fraud affects <strong>how</strong><br />
much council tax <strong>and</strong> income tax you have <strong>to</strong><br />
pay <strong>and</strong> the level of resources available <strong>to</strong> share<br />
among our commun<strong>it</strong>y.<br />
We have a duty <strong>to</strong> protect benef<strong>it</strong> funds from<br />
<strong>fraud</strong> <strong>and</strong> abuse. We also have a duty <strong>to</strong><br />
investigate <strong>fraud</strong> <strong>and</strong> the Government measures<br />
<strong>how</strong> <strong>we</strong>ll <strong>we</strong> are doing this.<br />
What is being done <strong>to</strong> help s<strong>to</strong>p<br />
<strong>fraud</strong> in benef<strong>it</strong> claims?<br />
Our Fraud Investigation team works closely w<strong>it</strong>h<br />
other agencies <strong>to</strong> reduce benef<strong>it</strong> <strong>fraud</strong>. They<br />
carry out joint investigations w<strong>it</strong>h the<br />
Department for Work <strong>and</strong> Pensions <strong>and</strong><br />
neighbouring councils <strong>and</strong> the investigations <strong>can</strong><br />
often involve the police, the Border Agency <strong>and</strong><br />
HM Revenue & Cus<strong>to</strong>ms.<br />
We are involved in ‘data matching exercises’,<br />
most of which are carried out by the Housing<br />
Benef<strong>it</strong> Matching Service <strong>and</strong> the Aud<strong>it</strong><br />
Commission’s National Fraud In<strong>it</strong>iative –<br />
including Aud<strong>it</strong> Scotl<strong>and</strong> in Scotl<strong>and</strong>, who check<br />
information held by public author<strong>it</strong>ies <strong>and</strong> a<br />
number of private companies. Any information<br />
that does not match is referred <strong>to</strong> the relevant<br />
author<strong>it</strong>y <strong>to</strong> investigate.<br />
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