Barking and Dagenham Council's counter-fraud team has recovered nearly £170,000 in the past year, according to the Counter Fraud Annual Report 2024/25 presented at the Audit and Risk Committee meeting on Wednesday, 25 June 2025.
The report detailed the team's work, including corporate fraud activity, whistleblowing referrals, and housing investigations. Key statistics revealed 175 corporate fraud referrals were received, with 51 accepted for investigation. In housing investigations, 1512 new cases were added, and 1477 were completed, leading to the recovery of nine properties.
The Audit and Risk Committee, chaired by Cllr Jack Shaw, also reviewed updates from external auditors BDO and Grant Thornton regarding the Council Statement of Accounts and Pension Fund Draft Accounts. BDO provided an update on the disclaimed audits of the Council Statement of Accounts for the years 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23. A key area of consideration relates to transactions between the council and the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Pension Fund in each of the years 2019/20 to 2022/23, including prepaid employer contributions and loans made by the council to the pension fund.
Grant Thornton presented an audit progress report on the Council Statement of Accounts for 2023/24 and preparation of the 2024/25 CSOA, along with a sector update. The issuance and signing of the audit opinion for the 2023/24 financial statements is subject to the outcome and signing of the previous financial years audit (2019/20 to 2022/23). The report also identified potential risks of significant weakness, including the development of a robust savings/transformation plan and governance arrangements in relation to council companies. The committee also reviewed its work programme for 2025/26, which includes further updates from BDO and Grant Thornton.