CIPFA to support London Counter Fraud Hub

CIPFA is to provide data analytics services to the London Counter Fraud Hub to help tackle unpaid council tax, illegal property letting and unpaid business rates across the capital.

Under the agreement, the CIPFA Counter Fraud Centre will support collaboration between London fraud teams by providing services such as a fraud risk register for the capital and a London wide whistleblowing service.

Investigations will be supported by accountancy firms Mazars and Moore Stephens, while advanced analytics software and case management will be supplied by BAE Systems, with support from industry experts Cifas and Ordnance Survey among others.

The new assistance is intended to help authorities in London 'turn up the heat' on fraudsters, CIPFA said. Last year, London councils detected fraud worth £102m, with housing fraud accounting for £74.5m of the total.

The hub, which is a partnership between all the London boroughs so they can share data better, is set to launch a pilot scheme in the autumn this year, followed by full operations in early 2017.