Protecting the public purse: stamping out fraud

Fraud in the public sector costs the taxpayers billions of pounds each year and losses on this scale can have a huge impact on the provision of public services. Frauds committed against the Council can include procurement and contract fraud; blue badge fraud; council tax fraud; business rate fraud; tenancy fraud and insurance fraud.

The Corporate Fraud Team, a partnership between North and East Ayrshire councils, based in Irvine, carries out investigations to prevent and detect fraud against both councils, whether it is by employees, elected members, partner organisations, suppliers or residents. The Team takes any enforcement action that is necessary which may include disciplinary action (if the fraud is perpetrated by an employee), civil court action or criminal prosecution.

Since the two councils joined forces in 2017, the Corporate Fraud Team has received over 1,340 fraud referrals for East Ayrshire with action ensuring public services reach the right people in our communities by protecting the public purse. Outcomes have included financial recoveries of approximately £0.5 million and support for the recovery of tenancies and recovery of blue badges.

Councillor Lillian Jones, Chair of East Ayrshire Council’s Governance and Scrutiny Committee, said: “East Ayrshire Council has a zero-tolerance approach to fraudulent or corrupt activity and we aim to prevent fraud wherever possible to protect the public purse. Wherever it is detected, we will investigate, so we would encourage anyone with information about suspected fraud to contact the Corporate Fraud Team on the details below. You don’t have to give your name or any personal details when you get in touch.”

• Email corporatefraud@north-ayrshire.gov.uk
• Call 01294 324228 (calls are not recorded)
• Write to: Corporate Fraud Team, North Ayrshire Council Headquarters, Cunninghame House, Friars Croft, Irvine, KA12 8EE

You can also follow the team on:

X (formerly Twitter): @NAC_CorpFraud                                                            

Facebook: @FraudTeamAtNorthAndEastAyrshireCouncils