Benefit Fraud
We are committed to protecting public funds and have a dedicated Fraud Investigation Team to prevent and detect any fraudulent claims. We treat Fraud very seriously and will look into any allegations that we receive.
Benefit fraud is a serious offence which:
- is punishable by law
- can lead to a criminal conviction in court and a criminal record
- may result in costs or other penalties and the repayment of any overpayment.
There are many types of benefit and Council Tax Support fraud. You'll be committing fraud if you make a false statement or knowingly fail to tell us about:
- money you receive and changes to your income
- money held in bank accounts, savings and investments and changes to these accounts
- the people living in your household
- a change in your circumstances.
To report a change in your circumstances, you should tell us as soon as possible.
Report suspected benefit fraud
If you think someone is committing benefit fraud, you can report this a number of ways:
- report benefit fraud online via GOV.UK (opens new window)
- report Council Tax Support fraud by calling the Freephone Hotline on 0800 002 008
- report Housing Benefit fraud by calling the National Benefit Hotline on 0800 854 440
- other ways to report suspect benefit fraud can be found on GOV.UK (opens new window).
We have a Code of Practice for officers who carry out fraud investigations.
This authority is under a duty to protect the public funds it administers, and to this end may use the information you provide for the prevention and detection of fraud. It may also share this information with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds for these purposes. For further information, please visit out National Fraud Initiative web page.