What we do
The Benefit Counter Fraud Unit investigates allegations of Housing and Council Tax Benefit fraud. If sufficient evidence is obtained that indicates fraud has been committed or attempted, the person making the claim will normally be invited in for a taped Interview Under Caution. A decision will also be made to establish if there has been an overpayment of benefit. If it is felt that Housing or Council Tax Benefit has been obtained falsely, the Council will then make a decision as to whether any sanction is appropriate. The sanctions the Council can consider are –
- Administrative Caution
- Administrative Penalty
- Refer to Procurator Fiscal to consider legal proceedings
- Refer to Police in certain circumstances
(See Sanction Panel)
The Council participates in data matching exercises through the Housing Benefit Matching Service and National Fraud Initiative. These exercises match the data held by the Council with that of other agencies i.e. DWP, to identify cases where fraud may have been committed.
The Benefit Counter Fraud Unit work closely with their counterparts from the Department for Works and Pensions in order to detect fraud across all benefit types. The two agencies will undertake joint investigations and also take joint sanction action.
Sanction Panel
Terms of Reference for Sanction Panel (PDF - 50Kb, 5 pages)
The Sanction Panel meet on a regular basis to review cases that have been investigated. (see Terms of reference for Sanction Panel). The Panel can decide to offer an Administrative Caution, Administrative Penalty or refer to the Procurator Fiscal. They also have the right to decide no sanction action to be taken or to refer the investigation to the Police.
Policy Documents
Documents available in Portable Document Format (PDF) be can viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Reader can be downloaded for free from the Adobe web site
Whistleblow line
The Council operates a Whistleblow Line where members of the public can refer allegations of Benefit Fraud and misuse of Council funds/property.
Contact details
Contact the Benefit Counter Fraud Unit by:
- phone the Counter Fraud Manager on 0141 287 3882
- completing the Financial Services Comments Compliments and Complaints form (PDF 299KB - 4 pages)
- through Glasgow City Council’s website Contact Us form, choosing Financial Services from the drop down menu