Audit Scotland report: Rise in fraud and error detection across public sector
A data matching exercise detected £21.5 million worth of fraud and payment errors across the Scottish public sector.
The National Fraud Initiative (NFI) helps detect and prevent fraud and error by matching data sets across public bodies. Savings are identified, for example, by checking eligibility for council tax discounts against the electoral register. The initiative runs every two years.
In 2022-23, fraud and error data matches worth an estimated £21.5m were identified in Scotland, compared to £14.9m in 2020-21. The largest potential savings were identified across council tax, pensions and housing benefits.
However, fewer public bodies were found to have fully satisfactory arrangements for participating in the NFI. And some bodies could improve how they follow up on data matches.
https://audit.scot/news/rise-in-fraud-and-error-detection-across-public-sector
https://audit.scot/publications/the-national-fraud-initiative-in-scotland-2024
