West Dunbartonshire Council is committed to develop an anti-fraud culture among its employees and the public. The Council will seek to ensure that fraud is prevented wherever possible and where detected, it will be thoroughly investigated, overpayments recovered, and consideration given to all civil and criminal disposal options.
Fraud is a criminal offence involving the deliberate use of deception or dishonesty to disadvantage or cause loss for the purposes of personal or financial gain.
The Council has a dedicated Corporate Fraud Team whose primary role is directly aligned to the prevention and detection of Fraud and the investigation of suspected/alleged Fraud committed across all areas of authority business.
If you think someone has committed Fraud, you can contact us via either of the following methods:
When submitting a referral or contacting us directly, please provide as much information as possible, which will help facilitate any enquiries or investigation we undertake thereafter.
Any information provided will be treated in the strictest of confidence and the option exists to remain anonymous in the submission of any referral/report, however if you do provide your details it may assist our enquiries/investigation, should there be a requirement to obtain additional information or seek clarity on what has been reported.
Each pound lost through Fraud represents a loss to the Public Purse and reduces the ability of West Dunbartonshire Council to provide essential public services to its local communities.
Local Authorities can be exposed to Fraud, Theft and Bribery & Corruption through a variety of internal and external sources, the following being some examples:
The Council is committed to develop an anti-Fraud culture amongst its employees and the general public and our counter fraud and corruption policy outlines our approach to the prevention, detection and prosecution of Fraud and corruption across all of its service areas.
Our Corporate Fraud Team investigate all allegations of Fraud committed against the Council and endeavour to ensure that Fraud is actively prevented wherever possible and where detected, it will be thoroughly investigated, overpayments or assets recovered and consideration given to all available civil and criminal disposal options.
The Council is required by law to protect the public funds it administers and in order to prevent and detect Fraud it may share information with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds, which is highlighted within our privacy notice and outlines how we protect personal data.
If you would like to report benefit fraud, please complete the form via the link below
Report Benefit Fraud | West Dunbartonshire Council
Whistleblowing is the term used when a person reports any wrongdoing, risk or malpractice within their workplace that could affect others, such as the public.
Legally, this is known as "making a disclosure in the public interest”.
Justifiable concerns that relate to activity which has taken place, is taking place or is likely to take place, could be:
West Dunbartonshire Council has a duty to ensure public funds it has responsibility for are properly managed, administered and protected and as such are committed to preventing people committing fraud and becoming involved in corruption and bribery.
The Council is committed to ensuring it has the appropriate controls in place to prevent these types of acts from occurring and given the potentially high financial cost of fraud that these acts can result in, it encourages anyone to inform us if they detect or suspect anyone is/may be involved in these types of activities.
The Council is committed to the highest possible standards of openness and accountability and in line with that commitment we expect employees and others that we deal with who have concerns about any aspect of the Council’s work to come forward and voice those concerns.
The Council has a confidential reporting policy, known as its Whistleblowing Policy, to encourage employees and others to raise concerns about any instances of wrongdoing within the Council, which aims to provide a safe and confidential environment for individuals to come forward with concerns, whether they are employees or other individuals.
If you are aware of any wrongdoing and wish to report it, contact the Council on 01389737272, where any information provided will be treated in the strictest of confidence, the allegations investigated and the appropriate action taken.
If you would rather report any wrongdoing online, please complete the form via the link below:
