Agenda item

(Director of Housing) To receive a presentation and consider the attached report.

The Panel received a report from the Assistant Director of Housing (Operations) regarding the evaluation of the Social Housing Fraud Pilot Scheme. In attendance at the meeting was the Housing Officer (Social Housing Fraud) Mr D Eyles.

In May 2010 the Cabinet agreed that a new part time post of Housing Officer (Social Housing Fraud) should be appointed on a temporary part time basis (22.5 hours per week) for a Social Housing Fraud Pilot Scheme for a 12 month period. The Council appointed a candidate to the post in May 2011. The Cabinet had asked that after 10 months of the commencement of the project, a formal evaluation should be undertaken and report submitted detailing the findings and future action proposed.

Since the part time Housing Officer (Social Housing Fraud) took up his post in May 2011, 37 cases of potential social housing fraud have either been, or continued to be, investigated.

The following results had been achieved, including the potential recovery of 6 properties:

(a)               Two fraudulent Right to Buy applications had been prevented, avoiding the Council giving discounts of around £68,000;

(b)               One property was found to be sub-let and had been re-possessed and let to an applicant from the Council’s Housing Register;

(c)               One property was not allocated to a housing applicant as they were found to be providing false information on a housing application form;

(d)               One case was being investigated by Housing Benefit Fraud Investigators, which may result in the recovery of overpaid housing benefit;

(e)               Two further cases were close to being resolved which were expected to result in two properties being received due to non-occupation or sub-letting and re-let to legitimate Housing Register applicants.

In view of the success of the Social Housing Fraud Pilot Scheme, it was proposed that the scheme should be made permanent, and that the existing part time post of Housing Officer (Social Housing Fraud) be made both permanent and full time, with an increase in hours from 22.5 hours to 36 hours per week. The cost of these additional 13.5 hours per week would only be £8,200 per annum, and would be funded from the HRA.

The £68,000 alone that the post had saved the Council within the past 8 months by identifying and investigating the two Right to Buy frauds, amounts to more than treble the annual cost of employing one full time Fraud Officer.

The Panel also considered the possibility of a Senior Housing Officer (Social Housing Fraud) post being appointed, and the benefits this could bring.

The Panel thanked Mr D Eyles for his attendance and presentation at the meeting.

RECOMMENDED:

That the following be recommended to the Cabinet:

(1)        That the Cabinet notes the outcome of the formal evaluation of the Social Housing Fraud Pilot Scheme undertaken by Housing Scrutiny Standing Panel;

(2)        That the existing part time post of Housing Officer (Social Housing Fraud) be made with immediate effect, both permanent and full time, with the increase of 13.5 hours per week being funded from the Housing Revenue Account; and

(3)        That the Panel strongly recommends that the creation of a second Housing Officer (Social Housing Fraud) post be included on the list of possible housing improvements and service enhancements to be considered by the Housing Scrutiny Standing Panel at its next meeting, along with the other proposals brought forward, in order for a public awareness campaign to be undertaken and for further social housing fraud to be detected and investigated, more properties brought back into proper use, and further savings made to the Council as a result.