The Havering Audit Committee has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the low completion rates of mandatory fraud and anti-bribery training across council directorates, particularly highlighting the People directorate where a significant majority of employees have not completed the essential course. The committee is demanding immediate action to achieve a 0% overdue training rate within six months.
Councillor Luke Barry, Chair of the committee, described the figures as absolutely not acceptable.
He stressed that understanding fraud reporting procedures is a responsibility for all council staff, not just those in finance, and that this is a cultural issue that needs urgent attention. The specific metric to measure the '0% overdue training rate' within six months is the completion rate of the mandatory fraud and anti-bribery training, with Councillor Barry stating, I would personally like it that within six months, we see that this number turns from 40% overdue to 0% overdue.
Kathy Freeman, Strategic Director of Resources, acknowledged the unacceptable figures and outlined steps being taken to improve compliance. These include direct follow-ups with line managers and incorporating training completion into staff objectives. Beyond this, Ms. Freeman detailed a proactive approach to foster a culture of fraud awareness, which includes:
- Direct follow-ups with individuals reporting to her to understand and address non-compliance.
- Individual conversations during one-to-one meetings, making training completion a firm agenda item.
- Sending out whole-team emails to emphasize the importance of the training and set clear expectations and deadlines.
Low Completion Rates Across Directorates
The internal audit progress report revealed that across the council, 40% of employees have not completed the mandatory fraud and anti-bribery training. While the Resources directorate showed a relatively high completion rate of 84%, the People directorate lagged significantly behind with only 43% of staff having completed the training, leaving 57% overdue.
The Place directorate had a 66% completion rate, with 34% overdue, and Corporate Management had a 71% completion rate, with 29% overdue.
The mandatory fraud and anti-bribery training consists of two corporate, mandatory e-learning courses: 'Understanding Fraud: Identify and Prevent Workplace Fraud' for all employees, and 'Anti Bribery The Basics and Fraud: Failure to Prevent' for all line managers. Information on training completion is regularly reported and monitored within the relevant areas.
