Hillingdon Council wins Grand Prix at prestigious Public Finance Awards 2023

The ceremony, held at JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel London, celebrated the people, products and services that demonstrate excellence and originality within public finance, with the west London council taking home two trophies: the Outstanding Fraud Prevention, Detection and Recovery award, and the biggest award of the night given to the best in class across all the shortlisted entries, the Grand Prix. 

The Grand Prix is the highest industry recognition, with Hillingdon Council's counter fraud team recognised by a panel of distinguished sector leaders for its ingenuity, creative initiatives and success in tackling fraud.  

The service won the awards for taking a proactive approach to fraud prevention, detection and recovery and the processes it has implemented which focus on loss prevention and income maximisation.  

The judging panel were presented with evidence of the team's success in achieving record financial savings of £12.3 million during 2022/23 across multiple areas, including tenancy fraud, business rates and fraud in homelessness.  

They were also impressed by the team's creation and implementation of a fraud risk register, which provides real-time reviews on emerging risks and allows them to deploy resources in an agile way, and the embedded mandatory verification processes across social housing, right to buy and succession applications.

The judges commented that Hillingdon demonstrated "a very strong nomination that showed results over and above target. The team took a holistic approach to audit, creating an organisation-wide counter fraud culture led from the top down.

"Their risk-based strategy secured real-time delivery and significant savings as well as being sustainable with plans for continuous improvement." 

Cllr Martin Goddard, Hillingdon Council's Cabinet Member for Finance, said: "I am delighted to see our counter fraud team recognised for the excellent service they provide to create safe and strong communities by preventing fraud and protecting the public purse. Congratulations to the team for their continued dedication and commitment.

"To stand out amongst strong competition from our peers and industry specialists from across the UK is a huge achievement and clearly demonstrates the remarkable efforts and inventiveness of the team." 

Fraud is a serious crime which can have a devastating impact on its victims and negatively impact on the availability of the council's resources. 

Anyone who suspects that someone is committing fraud against the council can report it directly, in confidence, at www.hillingdon.gov.uk/reportfraud or by calling 0800 389 8313.