£100,000 in overpayments found by benefits investigations team
A council’s benefits investigation team team found more than £100,000 in overpayments for rent allowance and Council Tax in 2025-26.
Calderdale audit councillors heard during that year the Welfare Benefits Service (WBS) had undertaken work across several areas.
This resulted them in identifying £51,838.57 in rent allowance overpayments and £51,260.19 in Council Tax reduction overpayments.
They had received 399 referrals from the public – via the fraud hotline and website – and staff from within the service.
Of these, 326 were referred onwards to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) of which 44 were accepted for investigation and compliance cases.
Calderdale Council a Committee were told in briefing papers covering various aspects of fraud that 75 compliance cases were closed in that year.
Councillors heard the WBS fraud officer also acts as a DWP liaison officer.
The service also takes part in the DWP’s fraud and error programme, which comprises a number of different schemes that enable it to cross-match information it holds with that by local authorities and across government to identify discrepancies in housing benefit awards.