Types of fraud involving this category
Staff collusion
This relates to NHS staff who limit open competition and are involved in anti-competitive behaviour, commit bribery or are favouring a supplier.
Breach of procurement rules
This relates to an NHS employee intentionally failing to adhere to procurement rules for dishonest purposes, including contract splitting, the use of accelerated timescales, conflicts of interest and inappropriate authorisation.
Bribery
This relates to the giving or receiving of an inducement, gift or hospitality to dishonestly influence the action of another.
Rigging tenders
This relates to a tender specification or weighting of a tender evaluation which has been produced to dishonestly favour a particular supplier.
False quotes and tenders
This relates to false quotes or tenders being produced by someone involved in the procurement process for dishonest purposes.
Contractor collusion
This relates to an agreement between contractors to divide a market, set prices, limit production, or other opportunities. It can involve kickbacks and misrepresntation of the relationship between the colluding parties.
Bid rigging/market division
This relates to a pre-agreement amongst suppliers as to who will bid, how much they will bid and what they will bid for. For example, a supplier obtaining contracts at uncompetitive prices to the disadvantage of the NHS.
Price fixing
This relates to individuals involved in a procurement process conspiring to agree the price that a particular product, works or service will be sold to the NHS.
Production/supply limitation
This relates to goods or services being deliberately restricted by suppliers in an attempt to increase the price charged to the NHS.
Post contract
This relates to issues such as overpayments to contractors through false or duplicate invoicing, payments for substandard work or work not completed under contract terms.
False Invoices
This relates to a supplier submitting false invoices for dishonest purposes in order to bill the NHS for goods or services not supplied.
Inflated invoices
This relates to suppliers submitting false invoices for dishonest purposes that do not accurately reflect the goods or services provided or contracted to the NHS. This would include erroneous VAT charges.
Duplicate invoices
This relates to a supplier submitting more than one invoice for the same product or service for dishonest purposes.
Concealed substitution
This relates to a contractor making an unexpected change to a contract, work done, or goods and services supplied and attempting to conceal this change for dishonest purposes.
False validation
This relates to a contractor who has dishonestly presented information certifying that work done meets agreed standards.
Mis-selling
This relates to the deliberate, reckless, or negligent sale of products/services where the contract is either misrepresented, or the product or service is unsuitable or non-existent.
Contract terms/charges
This relates to the NHS being misled in entering into a contract or being charged for products or services they have not agreed to for dishonest purposes. For example, where suppliers seek to enter into contracts with NHS staff who do not hold proper authority and cannot reasonably understand terms and charges.
Product non existent/underdeveloped
This relates to the NHS being misled to purchase products or services from a supplier, where the products are wholly underdeveloped or non-existent. For example, to obtain initial payments.
Personal gain
This relates to purchases made using NHS funding for the benefit of someone else.
Personal use
This relates to an individual purchasing goods for their own personal use using NHS funds.
Business use
This relates to NHS supplies being used for private medical work or where items are purchased using NHS funds with the intention of selling them for personal gain.