This report marks the first UK-wide local authority fraud and capacity survey since 2020, providing a renewed baseline from which to track trends, benchmark performance and inform strategy.

The findings reveal a 98.9% increase in fraud case volumes over the past five years, with an estimated £265 million in detected fraud nationally for 2024/25. Although average case values have decreased – suggesting a rise in lower-value but higher-volume frauds – there remains a good return on investment, with £3.65 detected for every £1 spent on counter-fraud activity.

We’d like to thank all participating councils for your engagement in this important project.

Some Key National Findings:

• 98.9% increase in fraud case volumes since 2019/20
• £265 million in detected fraud nationally (based on survey extrapolation)
• £3.65 detected for every £1 invested in counter-fraud
• Average fraud case value fell from £5,090 to £2,708
• 40% of councils report fraud work is carried out by staff with shared roles
• Tenancy, procurement and council tax fraud remain the highest-value categories

This report provides a useful evidence base for internal planning, partnership development and cross-sector collaboration.

View the full NAFN Local Authority Counter Fraud Survey National Report 2025

About the Survey Approach

This year’s survey was designed as a reintroduction to national data collection specifically on Counter-Fraud, following a five-year gap from previous surveys by others. With feedback from the sector indicating that previous surveys had become too onerous and time-consuming to fill in, we adopted a ‘lighter-touch’ model to reduce the burden on respondents and encourage wider participation. It has successfully enabled us to re-establish a national snapshot and test the feasibility of annual reporting.