“We will catch you” is the message local authorities across Cambridgeshire have sent out to fraudsters in the region after successfully securing £335,100 of extra Government funding to pilot a stronger and more coordinated approach to detecting and fighting fraud.

The Cambridgeshire Anti-Fraud Network (CAFN) brings together the five District Councils in Cambridgeshire plus the County Council to work together to identify local and cross-boundary fraud.

The Network won £335,100 from the Department for Communities and Local Government who made available £16 million for 2015/16 to help support 60 projects to expand and develop counter-fraud activities.

The CAFN was created to investigate all types of fraud against local authorities in the area including tenancy fraud, single person discount, council tax discounts or exemptions, procurement fraud, employee and identity fraud.

It is estimated this will help to detect and prevent additional fraud in excess of £1 million per year against local authorities.

Councillor David Brown, Chair of Corporate Governance & Finance Committee at East Cambridgeshire District Council, said: “It is estimated there is £21 billion of fraud against the public sector every year - £2.1 billion of which is against local authorities.

“Thanks to an excellent proposal, our bid was successful and we have received £335,100 – which was the 13th largest award nationally. We will now be using this money to work across Cambridgeshire to identify and investigate fraudsters who target local authorities. This is a very exciting time for us but we hope it sends out a message to anyone thinking of taking Councils on that we are ready and we will catch you.”