Better data sharing between different bodies could give a significant boost to Scotland's public finances after an exercise conducted by Audit Scotland identified nearly £19m of fraud and error across the public sector
Almost 100 public bodies participated in the latest National Fraud Initiative (NFI), which is coordinated by Audit Scotland every two years. They included the Scottish government and other central government bodies, all councils, NHS bodies, pension administering bodies, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Police Scotland and colleges.
The NFI compares electronic data about individuals held by different public bodies, such as councils and NHS boards, to help identify fraud or error. The outcomes from the NFI include amounts for fraud and error detected and an estimate for those future losses that have been prevented.
Overall, the NFI identified a potential £18.6m of savings, up from £16.8m in the exercise two years previously.
The latest exercise in Scotland has led to £4.8m of overpayments being recovered to date, plus an additional £1.8m in further savings from the previous NFI in 2014/15.
This time around 4,802 council tax discounts reduced or removed;280 occupational pensions were topped or reduced; 4,505 blue badges were stopped or flagged for future checks; and 710 housing benefit payments were also stopped or reduced.
The matches which generated the most results were pensions (34%/£6.3m), council tax discounts (24%/£4.4m), blue badges (14%/£2.6m) and benefits (£2.1m).
Fiona Kordiak, director of audit services, said: ‘Systems underpinning public spending are complex and errors can happen.
‘There are also some individuals who seek to exploit the systems and fraudulently obtain services to which they are not entitled.
‘What these latest results demonstrate is the value of data matching to Scotland's public finances at a time when budgets continue to be under pressure.’
The report notes that there is strong evidence that most bodies take advantage of the opportunities provided by the NFI but says some could act more promptly to investigate matches, prevent frauds and correct errors.
There are a number of recommendations to support further improvement by participating bodies in the NFI, including reminding audit committees to use the NFI self appraisal checklist and stating that where local auditors have identified specific areas where improvements could be made, the public bodies should act on these as soon as possible.
Audit Scotland National Fraud Initiative is here.
Report by Pat Sweet
