Information requested
1.For each of the Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England, please provide a summary of all instances of fraud committed by staff members, reported or investigated in the last five financial years (i.e., from 2019/20 to 2023/24, inclusive).
2.For each financial year and each ICB, please include (where available and not exempt under Section 40 or other applicable exemptions):
- The name of the ICB
- The nature of the fraud (e.g., type of offence, method used)
- The role or job title of the individual involved (not their name)
- The outcome (e.g., disciplinary action, dismissal, criminal charges, conviction, amount recovered)
- Whether the case was referred to the NHS Counter Fraud Authority or another external agency
1.‘please provide a summary of all instances of fraud committed by staff members’
Please clarify what you mean by ‘summary’. What information are you requesting to be included in a summary?
BY SUMMARY I MEAN A SHORT PHRASE DESCRIBING THE NATURE OF THE FRAUD EG “CLAIMING OVERTIME HOURS NOT EARNED” “CLAIMING EXPENSES THAT WERE NOT INCURRED” ETC. THIS SHOULD INDICATE THE NATURE OF THE FRAUD
Please note that any information may be subject to exemptions under the Act.
NOTED – THESE SUMMARIES ARE ‘DESIRABLE’ RATHER THAN A ‘MIUST HAVE’
2. reported or investigated in the last five financial years (i.e., from 2019/20 to 2023/24, inclusive).
Please clarify, do you require fraud reported or fraud investigated? To extract the information may involve a search of more than one case management system.
FRAUD REPORTED
The NHS Counter Fraud Authority case management system (CLUE) holds records from 2021 onwards.
ICBs did not come into existence until 2022.
Please confirm the revised date from which you require a search for information.
SINCE APRIL 2022
3.
- The name of the ICB - REQUIRED
- The nature of the fraud (e.g., type of offence, method used) – A BRIEF SUMMARY AS ABOVE
- The role or job title of the individual involved (not their name) – NOT REQUIRED
- The outcome (e.g., disciplinary action, dismissal, criminal charges, conviction, amount recovered) – JUST TELL ME WHETHER THE FRAUD WAS SUBSTANTIATED IF IT HAS REACHED THAT STAGE TO DATE
- Whether the case was referred to the NHS Counter Fraud Authority or another external agency – NOT REQUIRED
NHSCFA response
In response to your request,
From 01/04/2022 – 31/03/2025 the NHSCFA received 171 allegations of fraud relating to staff employed at CCGs/ICBs.
2022/2023 – 46
2023/2024 – 59
2024/2025 - 66
87 of these allegations have progressed to investigations which have been completed. Fraud has been identified in 20 of these investigations.
A breakdown of which ICBs/CCGs they were at is as follows: -
| ICBs/CCGs | number of allegations |
|---|---|
| BIRMINGHAM AND SOLIHULL CCG | 1 |
| HARINGEY CCG | 1 |
| NHS BATH AND NORTH EAST SOMERSET, SWINDON AND WILTSHIRE ICB | 1 |
| NHS BEDFORDSHIRE, LUTON AND MILTON KEYNES ICB | 4 |
| NHS BIRMINGHAM AND SOLIHULL ICB | 2 |
| NHS BLACK COUNTRY ICB | 4 |
| NHS BRISTOL, NORTH SOMERSET AND SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE CCG | 1 |
| NHS BRISTOL, NORTH SOMERSET AND SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE ICB | 1 |
| NHS BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, OXFORDSHIRE AND BERKSHIRE WEST ICB | 8 |
| NHS CAMBRIDGESHIRE AND PETERBOROUGH ICB | 1 |
| NHS CHESHIRE AND MERSEYSIDE ICB | 4 |
| NHS COUNTY DURHAM CCG | 1 |
| NHS COVENTRY AND WARWICKSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD | 1 |
| NHS DERBY AND DERBYSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD | 1 |
| NHS DORSET ICB | 1 |
| NHS FRIMLEY INTEGRATED CARE BOARD | 2 |
| NHS GLOUCESTERSHIRE CCG | 2 |
| NHS GLOUCESTERSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD | 2 |
| NHS GREATER MANCHESTER ICB | 8 |
| NHS HAMPSHIRE AND ISLE OF WIGHT INTEGRATED CARE BOARD | 8 |
| NHS HEREFORDSHIRE AND WORCESTERSHIRE ICB | 1 |
| NHS HERTFORDSHIRE AND WEST ESSEX ICB | 5 |
| NHS HUMBER AND NORTH YORKSHIRE ICB | 2 |
| NHS HUMBER AND NORTH YORKSHIRE INTEGRATED CARE BOARD / QOQ | 3 |
| NHS KENT AND MEDWAY ICB | 4 |
| NHS LANCASHIRE AND SOUTH CUMBRIA ICB | 1 |
| NHS LEICESTER, LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND INTEGRATED CARE BOARD | 1 |
| NHS MID AND SOUTH ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD | 2 |
| NHS NORFOLK AND WAVENEY ICB | 4 |
| NHS NORTH CENTRAL LONDON ICB | 6 |
| NHS NORTH EAST AND NORTH CUMBRIA ICB | 4 |
| NHS NORTH EAST LONDON ICB | 8 |
| NHS NORTH WEST LONDON CCG | 16 |
| NHS NOTTINGHAM AND NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ICB | 5 |
| NHS SHROPSHIRE, TELFORD AND WREKIN ICB | 4 |
| NHS SOUTH EAST LONDON ICB | 6 |
| NHS SOUTH WEST LONDON ICB | 9 |
| NHS SOUTH YORKSHIRE ICB | 6 |
| NHS STAFFORDSHIRE AND STOKE-ON-TRENT INTEGRATED CARE BOARD | 2 |
| NHS SUFFOLK AND NORTH EAST ESSEX INTEGRATED CARE BOARD | 3 |
| NHS SURREY HEARTLANDS ICB | 8 |
| NHS SUSSEX ICB | 5 |
| NHS WEST SUSSEX CCG | 1 |
| NHS WEST YORKSHIRE ICB | 6 |
| NORTH CENTRAL LONDON CCG | 1 |
| NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE CCG | 1 |
| NORTH WEST LONDON CCG | 1 |
| SOUTHAMPTON CCG | 1 |
| WIRRAL CCG | 1 |
| Total | 171 |
A description of what the allegations relate to is as follows: -
| Allegations description | number of allegations |
|---|---|
| Absent Without Leave | 1 |
| Abuse of Vulnerable Person and Breach of Procurement Rules | 1 |
| Accessing NHS Records for Stalking Purposes | 1 |
| Breach of Procurement Fraud | 8 |
| Bribery and Fake Care Packages | 1 |
| Business Manager with alleged undeclared supplier interests | 1 |
| Commissioner and Contractor Collusion | 1 |
| Computer Misuse | 2 |
| Conflict of Interest | 6 |
| Contracts Awarded to Previous Employers | 1 |
| Failed to declare a relevant conflict of interest | 1 |
| Failing to disclose information on application | 1 |
| Failure to Declare Gifts | 1 |
| Failure to disclose a conviction | 3 |
| False CV | 5 |
| False Diagnosis for Financial Gain | 1 |
| False Qualification | 2 |
| False representation - Undeclared private business | 1 |
| False Sickness | 14 |
| False Travel & Expenses | 5 |
| Identity Fraud | 2 |
| Inflated Salary Payments | 1 |
| Lease Car Debt | 1 |
| Misuse of Annual Leave | 1 |
| Misuse of ICB Funding | 1 |
| Misuse of NHS Assets | 2 |
| Misuse of Staff Mobile phone | 2 |
| Personal Use of NHS Vehicle | 1 |
| Pharmacy - medicine tampering | 1 |
| Pharmacy Failing to Dispense Medication | 1 |
| Provider Staff Mistreatment and Financial Irregularities | 1 |
| Recruitment Fraud | 4 |
| Redundancy Overpayment | 1 |
| Salary Overpayment | 8 |
| Sale of Medical Records | 1 |
| Selling Prescription Medication | 2 |
| Staff Misuse of Ambulance Vehicle | 1 |
| Suspicious invoiced purchases | 1 |
| Timesheet Fraud | 17 |
| Unauthorised Health Records Access | 2 |
| Use of Inadequate care Agencies | 2 |
| Working Elsewhere in NHS Time | 29 |
| Working While Sick | 32 |
| Total | 171 |
The data for each integrated care board is shown in the tables, attached.