Council acts after hundreds of pounds paid out to dead people

Anti-fraud investigators at East Riding Council uncovered four “errors” in payments that were made to or on behalf of dead people during the last financial year.

Two pensioners who had died continued to receive pension payments after their deaths, with one overpayment totalling £545.51, and the other amounting to £128.30. It is not clear how long the payments were being made before the errors were discovered.

The authority also overpaid two private sector residential care home providers a combined £954.05 for residents who had died.

The council’s pensions department has reviewed and updated its written procedures as a result.

It is not clear whether the overpaid care homes are in the East Riding or in a different local authority area, but any overpayments in the borough can be deducted from the next monthly payment for other residents, if there are any, while invoices have to be sent to providers outside the area to recover the money.

The council’s annual counter-fraud report, which will go before its audit committee today, describes these controls as “adequate”.

The authority is implementing a counter-fraud action plan and began giving fraud awareness training to staff last year, which has so far been delivered to 36 employees.

This is complemented by the quarterly internal publication Only Fools and Fraudsters, which includes general reports on fraud issues and details of actual frauds that have taken place within the organisation and elsewhere.

The number of whistle-blowing referrals fell from 61 in 2009-10 to 51 in the last financial year, although 26 have resulted in investigations, a one-case rise on 2009-10.

The report said there had been no individual inquiries of a “material nature”, but there had been several “low level non-compliance issues” where internal controls had not worked.

These included the theft of “a number” of laptops which had not been adequately secured over night.

The report says these issues have been addressed.

The document refers to one case in which an employee was sacked and given a suspended prison sentence following a council fraud investigation.

The employee was Dawn Cliff, a project manager at the council’s Wheels to Work scheme, who sold off seven council mopeds originally valued at £1,500 each during a 13-month fraud.

Cliff, who admitted charges of fraud and theft when she appeared at Hull Crown Court, submitted fake invoices for £600 worth of crash helmets and pocketed £700 for mopeds she sold without authority.

She was given a 42-day suspended prison sentence, told to pay £5,000 in compensation and was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work.

The report identifies the main areas of fraud risk to the council, including:

Collusion between staff or staff and an external party

Falsification of overtime and mileage claims

Benefit fraud

Theft and misuse of blank documents

Data and IT security

Procurement

Misuse of purchase cards.

The council is committed to tackling fraud but recognises it cannot be stamped out entirely, the report said, adding: “The council remains committed to countering fraud and corruption, ensuring public funds are protected from the risk of fraud and that the council’s affairs continue to be conducted with integrity, honesty and openness.

“This commitment is set out in the council’s counter-fraud and corruption policy.”