Protecting the public purse 2011
‘Protecting the Public Purse 2011’
I’m pleased that the Audit Commission’s
‘Protecting the Public Purse 2011’ recognises the contribution that
housing associations are making in tackling tenancy fraud; however,
the report is still very weighted to the work that local
authorities are doing.
Although 50% of social housing is managed by
housing associations, none of the funding goes directly to them. It
goes to local authorities and is not ring fenced and means that in
some areas, there maybe very little action on tenancy fraud whereas
in other areas there maybe a lot.
Since January 2010, Affinity Sutton has funded
its own dedicated Neighbourhood Auditor team to investigate
allegations of tenancy fraud and so far this year it
has already recovered 37 properties, beating last year’s total
of 33.
I believe that housing associations should be
given money directly to enable them to investigate tenancy
fraud. In doing so there would be additional benefits - encouraging
larger and smaller housing associations to work together.
This is something that Affinity Sutton is
doing in Bromley and in Hertsmere and this funding may also
encourage larger associations to take part in the National Fraud
Initiative.
Like the report, I recognise that the problem
is not restricted to London and this year we’ve employed a
Neighbourhood Auditor to work outside of London, recovering 12
properties since April across the country; including Birmingham,
Milton Keynes and Hertfordshire.
It is important to have a range of approaches
to tackle tenancy fraud and I acknowledge the possibility of
pursuing civil action to recover unlawful profit, but feel that it
will only be a realistic option in a few select cases.
I believe that more work needs to be done on
identifying trends and dispelling some of the myths of tenancy
fraud and Affinity Sutton is currently undertaking some
analysis of the outcomes from our Neighbourhood Auditor
service.
Richard Bellis, Head of Supported Housing (London)