Counter fraud and enforcement

The Council is required by law to protect the public funds it administers, to prevent and detect fraud and deter bribery and corruption in all areas of the Council’s work.

The Council contracts dedicated Counter Fraud and Enforcement specialist officers to investigate all allegations of internal and external fraud and abuse and to assist in maximising revenue and loss avoidance.

This can include:

  • abuse and misconduct by staff or councillors.
  • external attempts by the general public, such as housing and tenancy fraud, council tax support and discount fraud, misuse of grant funding and other acts causing financial loss to the council.

In addition, the Counter Fraud and Enforcement Unit (CFEU) undertakes a wide range of enforcement activity, supporting officers within the councils who are charged with regulatory enforcement such as:

  • environmental crime.
  • licensing offences, or
  • breaches of planning regulations.

To find out more about the Counter Fraud and Enforcement Unit visit the website at www.cfeu.org.uk. 

Please also view our Counter fraud and anti-corruption policy.

Report suspected fraud to the council

Please use the following contact details for matters relating to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

To report any allegations of fraud or misuse of public funds, for example claiming false council tax discounts, business rates avoidance, benefit fraud, false housing applications, the subletting of a social housing property or any false application for financial assistance you can:

You can also use the above contact details to report any concerns relating to council staff or councillors.

All reports will be investigated and any information provided will be treated as strictly confidential.  

You can make anonymous reports however, to enable us to obtain further information please supply contact information which will be treated confidentially.

Data Matching and the National Fraud Initiative (NFI)

The Counter Fraud and Enforcement Unit carries out data matching exercises to help prevent and detect fraud and ensure the council is providing efficient and cost-effective services to the public. 

Data matching involves comparing computer records held by one body or council department against other computer records held by the same organisation or another body to either confirm records or identify inconsistencies. The data matched may contain personal information. 

The council participates in the Cabinet Office’s National Fraud Initiative, which is a data matching exercise to help prevent and detect fraud nationwide.

The use of data by the Cabinet Office in a data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority under Part 6 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. It does not require the consent of the individuals concerned under the Data Protection legislation. For details of the code of practice for the data matching and the Cabinet office's legal powers, please view:

In addition, the council may also conduct its own matching of records within the council and with partners for prevention and detection of fraud and the assessment and collection of taxes and debts.

If you would like to know more about how we use your personal information, see the CFEU Privacy Notice .

Related links
Counter fraud and enforcement unit: Privacy notice