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Key Performance Indicators - Benefit Fraud

The results for the Windsor and Maidenhead Benefit Fraud Service for the past two years are as follows:

Statistics for 2006/7 to 2009/10 (to 31/01/10)

Description	2006/2007	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10
Number of benefit fraud referrals	491	474	397	239
Number of cases investigated and closed	304	399	230	86
Number of Cautions	7	10	2	3
Number of Administrative Penalties	23	33	26	14
Number of Prosecutions	7	18	24	7 (9 pending)
Value of Fraud overpayments identified (LA) / £	460,000	557,000	349,638	175,050
Value of Fraud overpayments identified (DWP) / £	0	0	158,684	21,604
Value of Administration Penalties / £	23,000	21,000	12,443	6,474

Local Performance Indicators

% Cases received by the Team, the number that have received a preliminary risk assessment within 5 days of receipt and the number of referrals received in each category of risk.

% cases that have / are being investigated, concluded and the results of those conclusions i.e. caution, administrative penalty, prosecution, no further action, overpayment.
Average length of time spent on each case i.e. time spent on each investigation.
Fraud team to maintain it self-financing status
% Appraisals, Team meetings and 1-2-1's undertaken within the Central Services timescales.
% Staff sickness at or below the national average.
% Complaints received and dealt with within the Authority's prescribed timescales.

Sanctions

The three possible sanctions which a Local authority may consider in respect of benefit fraud cases are:

Formal Caution - Following a full and frank admission of the offence, a person may be formally cautioned. A record is then kept by the Borough of the offence for which the caution has been administered. All cautions will be recorded on the Department of Work and Pension's National Database
Administration Penalty - Local Authorities have the power to levy a financial penalty in the sum of 30% of the fraudulent overpayment of benefit, recoverable over and above that overpayment. This penalty can be offered to the person in question as an alternative to prosecution. The person must accept this alternative in order for the the panalty to be implemented.

Failure to accept either of the above options means that an Authority must consider prosecution.

Prosecution - this is the ultimate sanction available and may be pursued under any suitable Act, with the Borough, the Department for Work and Pensions or the Crrown as prosecuting authority.