6.1 The authority recognises that the continuing success of this policy and its general credibility will depend in part on the effectiveness of programmed training and an awareness of elected members and employees throughout the authority.
6.2 To facilitate this in the past, positive and appropriate provision had been made via induction and for employees via their development plans. However, for the future it is intended that a programme of anti-fraud awareness training in the form of workshops possibly incorporating interactive means, will be rolled out across the council. There will still be specialist training for certain elected members and employees.
6.3 Key to effective awareness and deterrent is a formal and comprehensive system of feedback to provide outcome information to the person who originally referred concerns. Whilst confidentiality must be respected, including the Data Protection Act and Human Rights Act provisions, every referral should be concluded and the outcome communicated to the person making the original referral. Anti-fraud services should also maintain management information to show:
- how frauds are identified
- which type of frauds were affected
- any patterns or themes detected
- new fraud issues highlighted
- prevention measures
- how frauds have been quantified (see annex B).
