Gravesham Borough Council

Summary of Submission

Since 2016, Gravesham Borough Council and Medway Council have operated a shared service, generating over £9.3 million in savings and increased revenue. The service delivers a comprehensive approach to fraud prevention and detection across housing, council tax, social care, procurement, and more. Preventative measures include fraud awareness training and fraud risk assessments, which inform targeted resource deployment and strengthen fraud prevention controls. Proactive counter fraud activity includes participation in the NFI, local and internal data matching, validation checks on Right to Buy applications, identification of blue badge misuse, and temporary accommodation across the two councils. Reactive investigations span a wide range of council services, with notable outcomes including the recovery of 33 council properties, prevention of nine fraudulent Right to Buy applications, and removal of over 300 ineligible housing applicants. The service also supports external partnerships and policy development, exemplifying excellence in protecting public funds and delivering meaningful social value.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council in partnership with Voicescape

Summary of Submission

Faced with rising financial hardship and falling engagement through traditional recovery methods, Great Yarmouth Borough Council partnered with Voicescape – the UK’s leading provider of resident engagement solutions for social landlords and local authorities – to modernise and humanise its approach to Council Tax collection. The collaboration has not only improved collection rates during a particularly challenging fiscal year, but also reduced operational strain and enabled earlier, more constructive engagement with residents.

"We were facing a rising tide of 'notice blindness' where residents simply weren't opening debt letters," said Stuart Brabben, Head of Revenues & Benefits. "We needed something innovative to cut through that silence."

Hertfordshire Shared Anti-Fraud Service

Summary of Submission

The Hertfordshire Shared Anti-Fraud Service (SAFS) is an award winning and highly respected Anti-Fraud Partnership hosted by Hertfordshire County Council providing its services to local authorities and other public sector bodies across the Home Counties, London and the Eastern Region.

SAFS launched in 2015 as a two-year self-funding pilot and has been successfully protecting public funds for 10 years. Originally 6 local authority partners, increasing to 8 from 2024, with combined annual budgets in excess of £2.5bn.

SAFS is a centre of excellence and one of a very few local authorities with a Licence to Operate under the Government Counter Fraud Profession Practitioners Group, ensuring that our investigations meet the highest standards.

SAFS services include fraud risk assessment, policy and process fraud-proofing, fraud awareness/prevention training, data services, complex fraud investigations in both civil and criminal arenas, specialist investigations involving high risk or sensitive matters, financial investigations and anti-money laundering services.

London Borough of Redbridge and LoCTA Limited

Summary of Submission

The London Borough of Redbridge and LoCTA Limited have collaborated to create a powerful bulk tracing tool that helps councils tackle debt and fraud.

By enhancing the Trace Batch service to use email addresses and phone numbers as unique identifiers, the tool has successfully identified absconded debtors, second homes, and fraudulent Single Person Discounts.

When reviewing 870 potential second homes, Redbridge increased its taxbase by £110,000, with a further £320,000 still being processed. The service has also helped locate tenants who had vacated properties leaving behind arrears, and supported fraud investigations across various council teams.

Results were also identified that could benefit other councils, and these continue to be shared.

Trace Batch provides a joined-up, proactive approach that enables councils to collaborate, make better use of existing data, improve services, and protect public funds.

Oxford Investigation Service (Oxford City Council)

Summary of Submission

Oxford City Council’s Counter-Fraud Team is a high-performing, multi-skilled unit tackling social housing fraud and protecting public funds. Blending seasoned investigators, ex-police officers and new talent, the team uses intelligence-led fieldwork, data-matching algorithms, and strategic partnerships to achieve real-world results. In 2024/25 alone, their work prevented £5m in losses, recovered 36 properties, and disrupted 19 fraudulent Right to Buy applications.

Their professional curiosity and on-the-ground fieldcraft have also contributed to regeneration efforts, with long-term empty home reviews unlocking £275k in New Homes Bonus for Slough and Oxford. The team also led the recovery of £200k via Unlawful Profit Orders.

An established centre of excellence, they’ve trained over 500 professionals nationwide and host an annual fraud conference to share best practice. Recognised nationally, including their 2025 “Innovation in Fraud Prevention” award, the team exemplifies integrity, innovation and impact—ensuring housing is protected for those in genuine need.

Preston City Council, Lancaster City Council and Fylde Borough Council

Summary of Submission

The Corporate Fraud team hosted by Preston manages and administers the corporate counter fraud service on behalf of Preston and Lancaster City Councils and Fylde BC under shared service arrangements. This includes Revenues and Benefit fraud, HR/Employee fraud, Finance, Planning and Housing.

The team won IRRV Performance Awards for counter-fraud and partnership working in 2007 and 2011, and in 2015 the Corporate Fraud team was born.

Since then, the team: -

• has exceeded all targets set by each Council each year
• was a finalist in the Fighting Fraud and Corruption awards 2019, achieving highly commended in the category of Prevent
• Identified £3.5M in savings in the last 5 years which includes £1.2M identified on right to buy checks
• Undertook pre-payment checks on all COVID business grants for Preston and Lancaster with only 1% error rate - over £130M combined
• Gained Substantial assurance at all levels in last year’s audit report.