Ireland

Fraud, errors and overpayments in North’s central government accounts remain a concern

NI comptroller and auditor general’s report warns on preparation and quality of accounts submitted for audit

Northern Ireland's comptroller and auditor general Dorinnia Carville: the public sector continues to face 'serious' budgetary pressures.
Northern Ireland's comptroller and auditor general Dorinnia Carville: the public sector continues to face 'serious' budgetary pressures.
Sarah Slater
Tue Dec 10 2024 - 00:01

The levels of fraud, errors and overpayments in Northern Ireland’s central government accounts continues to be a concern, according to the latest report by the head of Northern Ireland’s Audit Office.

The report highlights that the levels of overpayments in benefit expenditure by the Department for Communities were estimated at £240 million in 2023-2024 which is an increase of £66 million from the £174 million estimated in 2022-2023.

Other key findings in the report show that the Northern Ireland Housing Executive estimated a total of £21.1 million of fraud and error in relation to housing benefit expenditure in 2023-2024 – an increase of almost £10 million compared with £12.7 million estimated in 2022-2023.

Fraud and error also occurred in housing benefit rate relief expenditure recorded by Land and Property Services which was estimated at £3.6 million in 2022-2023, which is an increase from £3.4 million for the previous year.

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In addition the report highlights other common themes including some organisations spending more than had been authorised by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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The comptroller and auditor general’s report also expresses concern in relation to the preparation and quality of accounts submitted for audit, as well as weaknesses in controls to protect organisations against errors, fraud and mismanagement.

The report acknowledges these issues are, in part, attributable to wider challenges facing the public sector in recruiting and retaining staff with relevant finance skills.

Commenting on the report’s findings, comptroller and auditor general Dorinnia Carville said that the public sector continued to face “serious” budgetary pressures.

The audit head also pointed out that organisations need to have in place procedures to ensure that the “stewardship” of public funds is assured.

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“It is essential that audited organisations take both internal and external audit findings seriously and I recommend that they implement corrective measures to ensure financial transparency, compliance, and appropriate accountability and that those charged with governance monitor the actions being taken to address recommendations,” Ms Carville concluded.