More than £80,000 in suspected fraud uncovered in Barnsley council checks
More than £82,000 in suspected fraud and overpayments has been uncovered by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council as part of national anti-fraud data checks.
The findings come from the authority’s latest work with the Cabinet Office’s National Fraud Initiative, which matches council data with government records to identify potential fraud and errors.
So far, the exercise has identified £82,930 worth of overpayments across several areas including council tax support, housing benefits and pensions.
The largest amount, £59,420, relates to the council tax reduction scheme, with 50 cases identified where money is either being recovered or has already been repaid.
Investigators also uncovered £21,139 linked to pensions or pension gratuities that had continued to be paid after a recipient had died. Two cases were identified and the debt is now being recovered.
A further £1,442 in housing benefit overpayments was identified in one case which has been referred to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Another case involving £929 related to a housing tenant incorrectly receiving council tax reduction.
Separate data checks comparing council tax records with the electoral register have also identified potential issues with single person council tax discounts.
So far, 44 cases have been flagged, linked to £47,507 in council tax discounts that may have been incorrectly claimed.
These cases are currently being investigated.
The latest update will be presented to Barnsley Council’s Audit and Governance Committee at its next meeting on March 18.