Wandsworth Council's Audit Committee convened on Wednesday, 12 November 2025, to scrutinise the council's fraud prevention measures and receive an update on the latest fraud-related activities.
The committee reviewed a report from the Head of Fraud, focusing on the council's objectives, targets, and progress in combating fraud. The report also included a summary of referrals received and a comparison with the previous two years. The Fraud Update 2025/26 report can be found on the council website.
According to the Fraud Update Nov 2025, the key objectives are:
- To provide a fraud response capability
- To minimise losses through fraud
- To maximise the recovery of losses
- To deter fraud
- To raise awareness of fraud
Kevin Holland, Assistant Director of Fraud Risk, highlighted the importance of staying ahead of fraudsters, particularly with the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI). He noted that AI presents both opportunities and challenges in fraud detection and prevention. While AI can help identify trends and improve decision-making, it can also be used by fraudsters to develop new techniques. Mr. Holland described AI as both a blessing and a curse
in this context.
Specifically, Mr. Holland mentioned that AI can be useful for identifying trends and picking up fraud by making better use of data and decision-making. However, he also acknowledged that AI is a tool that will be commonly used by fraudsters, giving the example of hidden text in applications that can be read by AI but not by the human eye.
Councillor Jo Rigby raised concerns about the increasing sophistication of AI scams and requested more information on the council's plans to identify and prevent them. Mr. Holland responded that the council is part of the government's counter-fraud profession and receives firsthand information on new trends and attacks.
Councillor Mrs. Kim Caddy inquired about the fluctuations in savings across different fraud categories. Mr. Holland explained that the other
category includes notional savings achieved through the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data matches, particularly blue badges matched to deceased individuals. He clarified that these are mostly data cleansing exercises rather than fraud cases. He also noted that the decrease in right-to-buy fraud is due to a drop in applications and a smaller discount size.
Regarding the NFI data matches, Mr. Holland stated that a large bulk of the savings in the other
category comes from blue badges matched to deceased individuals and weighting lists to deceased individuals still in circulation.
Councillor Lynsey Hedges asked about temporary accommodation fraud and the checks in place for grant processes. Mr. Holland said that the London Borough Fraud Investigators Group is actively looking at fraud types in temporary accommodation. Regarding grants, Paul Giulioti, Director of Financial Services, said that the level of checks depends on the size of the grant, with larger grants undergoing more scrutiny.
Councillor Annamarie Critchard noted that the visits to temporary accommodation pick up whether or not people are in suitable accommodation. Mr. Holland confirmed that the visits have led to safeguarding referrals. He also noted that there have been at least three safeguarding referrals resulting from visits to temporary accommodation. The team resources are new apprentices who have gone through a quick learning cycle and are now finding out a lot more during the visits.
Finally, Councillor Critchard asked about the value for money of the fraud investigation awareness and prevention efforts. Mr. Holland said that the procedures were satisfactory, and the council compares favorably with others in terms of return on investment.
