Several Sheffield City council staff sacked or resigned over fraud - report

A report states Sheffield City Council staff members have lost their jobs or resigned over fraud

A number of Sheffield City Council staff have lost their jobs or resigned following the discovery of fraudulent activity, according to a report.

The document states that some of the incidents involved the theft of cash or the falsification of timesheets.

Elsewhere the authority said it was also preparing a number of prosecutions for wrongful use of Blue Badge parking.

The council's audit and standards committee will discuss the report at a meeting on 27 July.

A total of 31 fraud investigations were carried out by the local authority in 2022/23, with some of the cases involving council staff, the Local Democracy Service reports.

The report said: "These cases were from all directorates and included theft of cash or assets, falsification of timesheets, financial abuse of service user, excessive use of internet during work time and behaviour breaching standards within the code of conduct.

"The types of frauds identified within the Council mirror those found nationally.

"South Yorkshire Police were notified and involved where appropriate.

"Following investigation, appropriate sanctions were applied where the issues were found to be proven. This resulted in several dismissals [and] resignations."

Further fraud cases being tackled by the council include the abuse of Blue Badges by members of the public.

A new penalty system has been introduced which means that cautions can now be offered to the offender, as an alternative to prosecution.

Fake council housing bids were also an highlighted in the report, with 92 active cases being investigated by a housing fraud team at the start of the year.

The report said council staff have mandatory online training to keep them up to date on fraud.

However, by the beginning of July, only 1,684 or 19.3% of all staff had undertaken the training.

The BBC has approached Sheffield City Council for comment.