The National Fraud Initiative (NFI) has uncovered over £1bn of incorrect or fraudulent payments since it was set up in 1996, according to figures released by the Audit Commission.

This includes almost 100,000 cases of fraudulent single person discounts for council tax, worth £160m, over £250m of housing benefit overpayments and £450m of incorrect pension payments.

NFI investigations also saw the withdrawal of nearly 70,000 blue badges for disabled parking and 100,000 concessionary travel passes.

Jeremy Newman, chairman of the Audit Commission, applauded the commitment of the scheme's participants, saying 'the vigilance of organisations from local councils to central government departments, supplying essential data and investigating potential frauds flagged up by the initiative, has paid off.'

The NFI compares data held by 1,300 public sector and 77 private sector organisations to flag up inconsistencies that suggest a fraud is taking place.

All local government and health bodies are required to take part in the scheme, while central government participants include the Department for Work and Pensions, the Home Office, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, and the Office for National Statistics.