£2.7m of fraud uncovered in 108 cases across city

But figures down on previous year due to 'fewer staff in team'

- Phil Corrigan

A NEW report has revealed that council officers uncovered £2.7 million of fraud last year.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s corporate fraud team investigated a total of 108 cases in 2024/25 - including housing tenancy, Right to Buy and council tax fraud.

The figures reported to the council’s audit committee were down on those from 2023/24, when there were 142 cases totalling £3.6 million. Committee members were told that this was due to the team having fewer staff.

There were 40 cases of residents fraudulently claiming the single person discount on their council tax, making it the most common type of fraud. The 18 housing tenancy fraud cases had an estimated combined value of £1.6 million, based on the cost of temporary accommodation for genuine applicants, legal costs to recover properties and re-let costs.