Councils investigate staff benefit fraud

Three Scottish local authorities are the focus of inquiries into allegations that scores of council staff have been falsely claiming hundreds of thousands of pounds in benefits.

Up to 80 staff and former staff of Glasgow city council face prosecution over alleged fraudulent claims worth more than £500,000.

A separate investigation at East Dunbartonshire council has uncovered 50 cases of irregular benefit claims worth around £90,000, and inquiries are under way at North Lanarkshire council into alleged fraud.

The investigations are part of joint effort by the benefits agency and the local authorities to crack down on housing and council tax benefits fraud by council workers.

In Glasgow 18 employees are facing internal disciplinary action, although no one has yet been suspended, a council spokeswoman said yesterday.

The benefits agency, which can refer cases straight to the procurator fiscal recommending criminal prosecutions, said even more cases could come to light.

A spokeswoman said. "We have still got more records to check. All the cases will be considered for prosecution; it depends on individual circumstances."

Glasgow council, the biggest in Scotland, said 80 full- and part-time staff may have been involved in fraudulent claims over the past seven years. The investigation involved checking the council's payroll records against its own and the benefits agency's payment information.

Most alleged fraud claims were for income support, incapacity benefit or job seeker's allowance, said a spokesman. Many were for full housing benefit or council tax benefit.

Jimmy Andrews, the council's chief executive, said: "We are one of the biggest employers in Scotland, with over 36,000 staff, and unfortunately it is a fact of life that a small number of employees are wrongly claiming money from the state or the council. That means less money for services."

A spokesman for East Dunbartonshire council said 14 staff were likely to be prosecuted, and other cases were under investigation.