Ealing Council's internal audits and investigations have identified £701,000 in savings and recovered losses between April and September 2025. The council is also implementing several measures to prevent fraud and irregularities from occurring in the future, including enhanced vetting processes and participation in the National Fraud Initiative (NFI).

The LBE Q2 Audit Investigation Report, presented at the Audit Committee meeting on Wednesday 03 December 2025, detailed the performance of the Internal Audit and Investigation team between 1 April 2025 and 30 September 2025. The team's reactive investigations resulted in proven cases with a value totalling £701,000, comprised of £687,000 in notional savings and £14,000 in actual losses.

The Internal Audit and Investigation team undertook several proactive anti-fraud measures to achieve these savings and recover losses, including participation in the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) and the NFI fraud hub program. They also conducted a succession applications project and a temporary accommodation project. Additionally, they implemented an enhanced vetting process for new recruits. Specific outcomes include:

  • National Fraud Initiative (NFI): Identified outcomes related to blue badges, waiting lists, council tax reduction, payroll (dual working), tenancy, pension, and single person discount fraud.
  • NFI Fraud Hub: Cancelled council tax reduction claims and pensions, resulting in overpayments.
  • Succession Applications Project: Denied one application, resulting in a Notice to Quit and property keys returned.
  • Temporary Accommodation Project: Cancelled 6 block-booked bed and breakfast placements.
  • Enhanced Vetting: Prevented 14 cases from progressing due to issues like benefit and council tax fraud, housing fraud, false employment history, false references, and false qualifications.

The report also highlighted several pro-active anti-fraud measures, including the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) data match, which identified numerous outcomes, including:

  • Blue badge misuse: £209,616
  • Waiting list irregularities: £12,849
  • Council tax reduction discrepancies: £64,716
  • Payroll dual working: £12,108
  • Tenancy fraud: £78,300
  • Pension irregularities: £247,820
  • Single person discount issues: £1,071

Additionally, Ealing Council's participation in the NFI fraud hub programme has led to the cancellation of nine council tax reduction claims, resulting in overpayments of £15,159, and the cancellation of nine pensions, resulting in overpayments of £7,562.

The council is also working with the housing team to review higher risk succession applications for tenancies. So far, one application has been denied, representing a notional savings of £42,000. A proactive project focusing on block-booked bed and breakfast placements has also enabled the cancellation of six placements, estimated to represent a total saving of approximately £194,000 per annum.

For individuals found to be involved in the identified irregularities, the consequences can be significant. These include recovery of council properties from unlawful tenants, refusal of applications for council tenancies, and stopping council tax discounts. Council workers may also face disciplinary penalties.

Sanctions applied can include prosecution, Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) Order, disciplinary penalty, tenancy application refused, Right-To-Buy application rejected, council property recovered, direct payment cancelled, Council Tax Reduction Scheme penalty, and Blue Badge warning.

The council is implementing several measures to prevent these types of fraud and irregularities from occurring in the future, including:

  • Enhanced Vetting: Stringent checks to verify the validity of a candidate and their employment application.
  • National Fraud Initiative (NFI): Participating in data matching exercises to identify potential fraud.
  • NFI Fraud Hub: Utilizing the fraud hub program to identify and cancel fraudulent claims.
  • Proactive Projects: Conducting projects focused on specific areas like succession applications and temporary accommodation to identify and prevent fraud.