Council fraud team recognised for protecting public purse

The team have been shortlisted for the Excellence in Protecting the Public Purse award alongside Anglia Revenues Partnership, Hertfordshire Shared Anti-Fraud Service, London Borough of Enfield, London Borough of Waltham Forest, and Oxford Investigation Service (Oxford City Council).

The IRRV awards recognise excellence, innovation and best practices across local taxation, welfare benefits, and property valuation within the public and private sectors.

Cllr Ben Green, Executive Member for Finance and Assets said:

“Our fraud team does a fantastic job safeguarding public funds in a professional way. I am delighted that their efforts have been rightly recognised by the awards committee. The fact that a number of other councils trust Reigate & Banstead's team to carry out their services is testament to the industry-leading position of our team.”

Reigate & Banstead Fraud and Financial Investigation Team is made up of 17 specialist staff, including senior investigation officers, investigation officers, intelligence officers and two accredited financial investigators – all of them providing counter-fraud services for the council and other local authorities across Surrey and beyond.

Their work makes a real difference – protecting vital public services, strengthening controls and helping maintain public confidence in local government.

In the reporting period (2025/2026), the team investigated 2,613 cases with 516 of them resulting in a positive outcome. Five of these cases resulted in successful prosecutions, 26 are currently going through the court process, and there are currently 10 cases in which the team is conducting confiscation investigations to recover proceeds of crime for victims, including local authorities.

Award winners will be revealed at the IRRV annual conference at Telford International Centre on 30 September 2026.