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30 Sep 21
The level of fraud and error in benefit payments made in Northern Ireland rose again last financial year, leading to a spending watchdog issuing a qualified opinion.
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17 Sep 21
Fraud accounted for almost half of the tax lost in 2019-20, which is a much bigger problem than previously thought, a think tank has said.
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13 Sep 21
Two senior officers at a borough council have been found guilty of creating a fake worker to defraud more than £40,000 from the authority.
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25 Aug 21
A government anti-fraud programme has detected or prevented more than £2bn since it was set up 25 years ago, according to ministers.
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13 Aug 21
Two companies that targeted 41 councils with fraudulent Covid-19 grant claims have been wound up after High Court hearings.
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12 Aug 21
Scotland’s largest Local Government Pension Scheme has reported a suspected £300,000 fraudulent claim to the police, after it was revealed a deceased pensioner was receiving pay-outs.
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27 Jul 21
The failure of the London Borough of Lambeth to set a local tax rate during the 1980s directly contributed to sexual abuse in its children's homes, a critical report said.
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19 Jul 21
A new Fabian pamphlet calls on the Labour Party to position itself as the party of rigorous stewardship of public money – authors David Walker and John Tizard explain why.
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15 Jul 21
The Department for Work and Pensions last year prevented a major attack on its systems by organised criminals, it has emerged.
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30 Jun 21
Government departments lack urgency in their efforts to measure fraud and error relating to Covid-19 spending, according to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.
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28 Jun 21
Sara Pitt and Rebecca Hellard explain how they improved the performance of Birmingham City Council’s finance department.
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11 Jun 21
Police have made three arrests in relation to the financial management of a company owned by a local authority in the south of England.
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28 May 21
Amendments to international reporting standards proposed this week will see auditors demand more involvement with councils' processes for identifying fraud, an expert told PF.
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25 May 21
A two-person fraud team prevented £296,000 of fraud at a West Midlands council in 2020-21, a rise around 70% on the previous year.
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25 May 21
Finance officers need to interrogate and address cultural and behavioural factors, which are as important as legal frameworks in ensuring good governance in the public sector.
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21 May 21
A senior MP has questioned whether the new 'system leader' for local audit proposed by the government will possess the expertise to deal with the complexities of the sector.
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20 May 21
Government proposals on local audit have gained a qualified welcome from the sector – but questions still remain, say experts – PF rounds up the reaction.
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19 May 21
The government has proposed making the replacement to the Financial Reporting Council the new system leader for local audit, following the Redmond Review.
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14 May 21
The Covid-19 pandemic led to the highest-ever level of fraud and error in benefit payments, according to official estimates.
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27 Apr 21
London Borough of Newham has been granted permission to appeal a High Court decision which rejected its claim against Barclays Bank over historic Lender Option Borrower Option loans.
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12 Apr 21
Northern Irish officials are seeking to recover £4.38m from businesses that wrongly received Covid-19 grants.
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8 Apr 21
The government will give £3.7m to Cleveland and Redcar Council to help cover costs relating to a cyber attack in February last year.
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17 Mar 21
A revenue finance officer redirected more than £60,000 from the local authority she worked for to pay off her credit card bills.
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26 Feb 21
Tax fraud costs the public purse around ten times as much as benefit fraud. So why does the government employ three times as many people to tackle the latter, asks TaxWatch’s George Turner.
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25 Feb 21
A High Court judge has thrown-out a legal challenge tabled by eight local authorities against lender Barclays Bank over historic Lender Option Borrower Option loans.
30 Sep 21The level of fraud and error in benefit payments made in Northern Ireland rose again last financial year, leading to a spending watchdog issuing a qualified opinion.
17 Sep 21Fraud accounted for almost half of the tax lost in 2019-20, which is a much bigger problem than previously thought, a think tank has said.
13 Sep 21Two senior officers at a borough council have been found guilty of creating a fake worker to defraud more than £40,000 from the authority.
25 Aug 21A government anti-fraud programme has detected or prevented more than £2bn since it was set up 25 years ago, according to ministers.
13 Aug 21Two companies that targeted 41 councils with fraudulent Covid-19 grant claims have been wound up after High Court hearings.
12 Aug 21Scotland’s largest Local Government Pension Scheme has reported a suspected £300,000 fraudulent claim to the police, after it was revealed a deceased pensioner was receiving pay-outs.
27 Jul 21The failure of the London Borough of Lambeth to set a local tax rate during the 1980s directly contributed to sexual abuse in its children's homes, a critical report said.
19 Jul 21A new Fabian pamphlet calls on the Labour Party to position itself as the party of rigorous stewardship of public money – authors David Walker and John Tizard explain why.
15 Jul 21The Department for Work and Pensions last year prevented a major attack on its systems by organised criminals, it has emerged.
30 Jun 21Government departments lack urgency in their efforts to measure fraud and error relating to Covid-19 spending, according to Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.
28 Jun 21Sara Pitt and Rebecca Hellard explain how they improved the performance of Birmingham City Council’s finance department.
28 May 21Amendments to international reporting standards proposed this week will see auditors demand more involvement with councils' processes for identifying fraud, an expert told PF.
25 May 21A two-person fraud team prevented £296,000 of fraud at a West Midlands council in 2020-21, a rise around 70% on the previous year.
25 May 21Finance officers need to interrogate and address cultural and behavioural factors, which are as important as legal frameworks in ensuring good governance in the public sector.
21 May 21A senior MP has questioned whether the new 'system leader' for local audit proposed by the government will possess the expertise to deal with the complexities of the sector.
20 May 21Government proposals on local audit have gained a qualified welcome from the sector – but questions still remain, say experts – PF rounds up the reaction.
27 Apr 21London Borough of Newham has been granted permission to appeal a High Court decision which rejected its claim against Barclays Bank over historic Lender Option Borrower Option loans.
8 Apr 21The government will give £3.7m to Cleveland and Redcar Council to help cover costs relating to a cyber attack in February last year.
26 Feb 21Tax fraud costs the public purse around ten times as much as benefit fraud. So why does the government employ three times as many people to tackle the latter, asks TaxWatch’s George Turner.
