Harrow's Corporate Anti-Fraud Team (CAFT) is facing challenges in meeting its targets for recovering social housing units and disrupting fraudulent Right to Buy applications, according to the Internal Audit & CAFT Progress Report. The report, presented to the Governance, Audit, Risk Management and Standards Committee (GARMS) on 25 November 2025, highlights the team's performance against its 2025/26 plan.
Specifically, the CAFT is behind target on the recovery of social housing units and disruption of fraudulent Right to Buy applications because there are a number of repossession cases currently with HB Public Law that should be concluded by the end of the financial year.
While CAFT is exceeding most of its targets, the struggle to recover social housing units and disrupt Right to Buy fraud is a concern. The report indicates that several repossession cases are currently with HB Public Law and are expected to be concluded by the end of the financial year, which may improve the team's performance in this area.
Despite this challenge, CAFT has achieved significant financial benefits through its investigations. Key areas of enquiry and their estimated savings/avoidance of loss include:
- Tenancy Fraud: £279,000
- Right to Buy Fraud: £259,440
- Internal/Employee Fraud: £179,944
- Social Care Fraud: £77,602
- National Fraud Initiative (NFI): £393,000
The NFI, a biennial data matching exercise, has been particularly successful, with 223 positive outcomes resulting in savings/loss avoidance of over £393,000.
The report also indicates that CAFT is meeting or exceeding targets for risk assessment and deployment of resources in internal fraud, corruption referrals, and fraud risk recommendations.
The GARMS Committee reviewed and noted the Internal Audit & CAFT Progress Report, acknowledging both the successes and the areas needing improvement within Harrow's anti-fraud efforts.
