Fraud, deprivation of assets and misuse of taxpayer funds

The council has a legal duty to protect and prevent misuse of taxpayer funds.

We investigate all concerns about fraud, including against other public bodies such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

Our investigations may result in criminal prosecution and/or sharing information with other bodies.

Some people try to reduce or avoid paying care costs by:

• giving false or incomplete information during their financial assessment
• deliberately giving away savings, income or assets
• selling them for less than their true value.

This is known as ‘deprivation of assets’. If we have reason to believe that someone is trying to avoid or reduce their care costs in this way, we may:

• use the true value of the asset/income in their financial assessment as if they still owned it and calculate their contribution accordingly
• take action to recover lost chargeable income from the person to whom the asset or income was transferred.