The Council has an anti-fraud strategy which outlines a zero-tolerance approach to fraud. However, this zero-tolerance stance is yet to translate into comprehensive and effective arrangements. At the time of our review, the Council had acknowledged some weaknesses in its counter-fraud arrangements and was working to address these. Importantly, it already has formal plans in place to develop a fraud risk assessment, an anti-fraud plan and a standalone fraud response plan. It was planning to complete these actions by the end of March 2026. This could mitigate against many of the issues we identify in this report.