BCP Council looked into 371 fraud cases last year, 195 on council tax discounts. 782 bus passes and 164 Blue Badges of people who had died were cancelled.
BCP Council investigated 371 suspected fraud cases in 2025/26. That is up from 289 the year before and 144 the year before that, so the caseload has more than doubled in two years.
More than half were tip-offs from the public about council tax discounts: 195 cases, against 121 a year earlier. The report links the rise to checks on the single person discount, the 25% off a bill for people who live alone.
The figures are in the council’s annual counter fraud report. It goes to the Audit and Governance Committee at 6pm tonight, Thursday 15 October. Councillors are asked only to note it.
What the 371 cases were
Most cases started with an anonymous tip-off from a member of the public. The report breaks them down like this:
| Type of case | 2025/26 | 2024/25 | 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Council tax discount tip-offs | 195 | 121 | 58 |
| Housing tenancy tip-offs | 50 | 38 | 26 |
| Investigations led by Internal Audit | 39 | 37 | 22 |
| Blue Badge tip-offs | 34 | 34 | 11 |
| Reports that turned out not to involve the council | 27 | 23 | 3 |
| Unpaid business rates tip-offs | 15 | 16 | 12 |
| Housing application tip-offs | 10 | 5 | 1 |
| Financial assessments | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| Direct payments misuse | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Other | 1 | 9 | 5 |
| Total | 371 | 289 | 144 |
The report gives a reason for the jump in council tax cases. In 2024/25, Internal Audit ran a pilot that checked every national data match suggesting someone might be wrongly claiming the single person discount. The pilot raised more council tax, the report says, so the checks are now routine work for the council’s revenues team. It says the rise “may be attributed” to that.
The council’s investigators do not handle every type of fraud. Housing Benefit fraud goes to the Department for Work and Pensions. Council tax and business rates fraud is acted on by BCP’s own revenues and benefits team.
Passes and badges of people who had died
The council also takes part in the National Fraud Initiative, a national exercise that matches council records against other data, including death records. The final results of the 2024/25 round were:
- 782 concessionary bus passes cancelled because the holder had died
- 164 Blue Badges cancelled for the same reason
- three care home payments worth £32,682.93 in total, made after a resident had died, all recovered
- ten duplicate payments to suppliers worth £34,583, of which £33,811 was recovered; the last £772 was lost because the supplier went into liquidation
- £470.54 of overpaid VAT on two transactions, recovered
The report says care homes were reminded to tell the council promptly when a resident dies.
Blue Badges and council homes
Investigators also helped with Blue Badge and council tenancy cases. The report says 32 Blue Badge referrals led to seven warning letters, up from three. No badges were taken back. Of 48 housing tenancy referrals, none led to a council home being recovered.
Those two counts are slightly lower than the 34 and 50 in the main table. The report does not explain the gap.
Right to Buy checks fell from 143 to 14. The report puts that down to the government’s cut to Right to Buy discounts, which took effect on 21 November 2024. Tenants had rushed to apply before the cut.
Seafront arcade cash and other audits
Internal Audit looked at seven areas where fraud is a high risk. All seven got a “reasonable assurance” opinion, the middle rating, with improvements asked for in each. They were:
- contract payments
- direct payments in adult social care
- Right to Buy
- Blue Badges
- concessionary travel
- moveable equipment across the council
- cash income at the council’s seafront arcade
The arcade audit asked for the most changes. They include better cash counting controls, closer checks on reconciliations and variances, a review of float levels, and a check that the safe’s storage is properly insured.
Next year’s audits will cover staff declarations of interest, business rates, duplicate payments to suppliers, debt write-offs and crisis payments.
The team and the cost
Four people investigate fraud for the council, equal to two full-time posts. Two are accredited counter fraud specialists. The council spent £121,749 on investigating and prosecuting fraud in 2025/26, up from £118,134.
There were also three formal whistleblowing referrals from staff. The report says all three were investigated and closed under the council’s policy. Their details, and the cases Internal Audit led itself, are in a confidential appendix.
90% of the council’s 6,377 staff had completed fraud awareness training by August 2026, up from 87%. A CIPFA self-assessment gave the council’s anti-fraud arrangements a score of 94%.
What it means for you
If you claim the single person discount and someone moves in with you, tell the council. Its council tax fraud page says not reporting a change of circumstances can count as fraud. Data matching now checks these claims routinely, so a wrong discount is more likely than ever to be found.
The same applies when someone dies. Their bus pass and Blue Badge should be returned, and data matching will pick them up if not.
You can report suspected fraud to the council anonymously through its report fraud pages. There are separate forms for council tax, housing, bus passes and business rates.
To check what you should be paying, see our Bournemouth council tax bands page.
Sources
- Annual Report of Internal Audit Counter Fraud Work and Whistleblowing Referrals 2025/26, BCP Council, for every figure in this article.
- Audit and Governance Committee agenda, 15 October 2026, for the meeting date and time.
- BCP Council, Report Council Tax fraud, for what counts as council tax fraud.
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