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Fraud Response Plans

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Dear Aberdeen City Council,

I am a current PhD student researching fraudulent misconducts involving employees within Scottish local authorities since the introduction of the Bribery Act 2010. My area of interest relates to departments involved in the construction of new buildings, and in the repairs & maintenance of existing properties within your local authority.
I therefore would be most grateful if you would provide me with the following information to the questions listed below.
Many thanks in advance.

SH Bell

1) Does your fraud response plan specifically address the fraud risks that apply to the departments dealing with the construction of new buildings and in the repairs & maintenance of existing properties, or has your council adopted a uniform anti-fraud and corruption policy across all departments of the council? Please would you provide a copy of your policy.

2) Do you have a clear unambiguous policy in relation to conflict of interest and gifts and hospitality, and if so, please would you provide a copy?

3) How many allegations of fraud involving an employee has your authority received in the following periods, and how many were found to be substantiated?

2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018

Foi Enquiries, Aberdeen City Council

1 Attachment

Dear S H Bell,

Information enquiry reference FOI-19-0221 - Fraud

Thank you for your recent request for information, which we received on 06 February 2019.

The scheduled date for our response to your request for information is on or before 06 March 2019.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any queries in the meantime.

Yours sincerely,

Claire Barranger-Clark

Claire Barranger-Clark | Senior Access to Information Officer
Aberdeen City Council | Access to Information Team | Customer Feedback |Customer
Marischal College |Business Hub 17, 3rd Floor | Broad Street | Aberdeen | AB10 1AQ

Dial: 01224 522166
www.aberdeencity.gov.uk | Twitter: @AberdeenCC | Facebook.com/AberdeenCC

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail (including any attachment to it) is confidential, protected by copyright and may be privileged. The information contained in it should be used for its intended purposes only. If you receive this email in error, notify the sender by reply email, delete the received email and do not make use of, disclose or copy it. Whilst we take reasonable precautions to ensure that our emails are free from viruses, we cannot be responsible for any viruses transmitted with this email and recommend that you subject any incoming email to your own virus checking procedures. Unless related to Council business, the opinions expressed in this email are those of the sender and they do not necessarily constitute those of Aberdeen City Council. Unless we expressly say otherwise in this email or its attachments, neither this email nor its attachments create, form part of or vary any contractual or unilateral obligation. Aberdeen City Council's incoming and outgoing email is subject to regular monitoring.

Foi Enquiries, Aberdeen City Council

2 Attachments

Dear SH Bell,

 

Thank you for your information request of 06 February 2019.  Aberdeen City
Council (ACC) has completed the necessary search for the information
requested. Our response is now detailed below.

 

1) Does your fraud response plan specifically address the fraud risks that
apply to the departments dealing with the construction of new buildings
and in the repairs & maintenance of existing properties, or has your
council adopted a uniform anti-fraud and corruption policy across all
departments of the council?  Please would you provide a copy of your
policy.

Please see the Council corporate Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Policy
through the below link:

[1]https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services...

 

The policy also includes third parties that the Council would engage with.

 

As copy of the policy is otherwise accessible through the Council website,
it is exempt from disclosure.  In order to comply with its obligations
under the terms of Section 16 of the FOISA, ACC hereby gives notice that
we are refusing your request under the terms of Section 25(1) -
Information Otherwise Accessible - of the FOISA.

 

2) Do you have a clear unambiguous policy in relation to conflict of
interest and gifts and hospitality, and if so, please would you provide a
copy?

Please find enclosed document ref: Financial Regulations 2018 where
Section 5.11 would address this.

 

3) How many allegations of fraud involving an employee has your authority
received in the following periods, and how many were found to be
substantiated?

2011: 0

2012: 3

2013: 3

2014: 0

2015: 4

2016: 1

2017: 0

2018: 2

 

Please note the numbers provided above are based on our database of cases
that went through official disciplinary procedures. We do not hold
information for informal allegations. All these were substantiated as we
do not record allegations which are not upheld.

 

ACC is unable to provide you with information on allegations which are not
upheld as it is not held by ACC.  In order to comply with its obligations
under the terms of Section 17 of the FOISA, ACC hereby gives notice that
this information is not held by it. 

 

We hope this helps with your request.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Grant Webster

Access to Information Officer

 

INFORMATION ABOUT THE HANDLING OF YOUR REQUEST

 

ACC handled your request for information in accordance with the provisions
of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. Please refer to the
attached PDF for more information about your rights under FOISA.

 

Grant Webster |Access to Information Officer

Aberdeen City Council | Access to Information Team | Customer Feedback
|Customer

Marischal College |Business Hub 17,  3^rd Floor | Broad Street | Aberdeen
| AB10 1AQ

 

Dial: 01224 522166

[2]www.aberdeencity.gov.uk | Twitter: @AberdeenCC |
Facebook.com/AberdeenCC

 

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This e-mail (including any attachment to it) is
confidential, protected by copyright and may be privileged. The
information contained in it should be used for its intended purposes only.
If you receive this email in error, notify the sender by reply email,
delete the received email and do not make use of, disclose or copy it.
Whilst we take reasonable precautions to ensure that our emails are free
from viruses, we cannot be responsible for any viruses transmitted with
this email and recommend that you subject any incoming email to your own
virus checking procedures. Unless related to Council business, the
opinions expressed in this email are those of the sender and they do not
necessarily constitute those of Aberdeen City Council. Unless we expressly
say otherwise in this email or its attachments, neither this email nor its
attachments create, form part of or vary any contractual or unilateral
obligation. Aberdeen City Council's incoming and outgoing email is subject
to regular monitoring.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services...
2. http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/

We don't know whether the most recent response to this request contains information or not – if you are SH Bell please sign in and let everyone know.