A new way of identifying potential cases of fraud has been put in place by South Ayrshire Council. The Corporate Fraud team will work across every service to ensure best practice is observed, while taking action where criminal activity is identified.
The move coincides with International Fraud Awareness week which runs between 13-19 November. Fraud costs public sector organisations millions of pounds a year, and every case helps to erode available support for local services.
South Ayrshire Council operates a zero tolerance approach to fraud, and is calling on staff and members of the public to recognise, report, and root out fraud to help protect public funds and invest money back into community services.
Types of fraud or corrupt activity include:
Business rates fraud
Council tax fraud
Employee fraud
Tenancy fraud
Insurance fraud
Procurement and contract fraud
Blue badge fraud
Councillor Robin Reid, South Ayrshire Council's Portfolio Holder for Resources and Performance, said that taking early action would help safeguard future funds, "We're committed to reviewing the way we work to provide the best possible services, and this new development is part of that wider approach.
"By creating a dedicated Corporate Fraud team we're encouraging staff to think about unusual activity all year round, while also making it easy for the public to get in touch should they suspect cases of criminal activity.
"This preventative approach will ensure that best practice remains in place across all Council services, and by adopting new measures to help identify fraud, we'll also be better placed to free up more money to invest in our communities."
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