Enfield Council's Counter Fraud team has identified detected and prevented savings of £1.2 million during the period from 1 April 2025 to 30 September 2025, according to the Internal Audit and Counter Fraud Progress Report. This includes notional housing savings of £594,000 through the recovery of properties used improperly as Council accommodation. The report was presented to the General Purposes Committee on Wednesday 22 October 2025.
The Counter Fraud team's work contributes to the Council's broader efforts to safeguard public funds and ensure they are used effectively to deliver services to residents. The team's efforts align with the Council's zero-tolerance stance on fraud, bribery, and corruption, as outlined in the Counter Fraud Strategy and Counter Fraud Response Plan 2025-2028.
The Counter Fraud Strategy and Counter Fraud Response Plan 2025-2028 outlines three key strategic aims to address fraud and related offences, aligned with the Fighting Fraud & Corruption Locally Strategy (FFCL) for the 2020s model and the 2014 Code:
- Promote the council's counter fraud culture.
- Pursue fraud detection and sanction capabilities.
- Progress the use of technology.
The Response Plan outlines how these strategic aims will be met, covering proactive and reactive prevention and detection activities. To progress the use of technology, the plan aims to Proactively harness existing and emerging technologies, with a focus on AI, to strengthen the Council's counter fraud capabilities.
