Local authority fraud defences saved nearly £300m in 2015/16, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has revealed.

CIPFA estimated 77,000 fraud cases worth £271m were detected or prevented by local authorities over the last financial year.

The highest value fraud types this year were housing scams, with 3,842 totalling £148.4m. 

Council tax fraud was the most common type of fraud, with 47,747 cases detected with a total value of £22.4m.

CIPFA also warned of the emerging threat of fraud relating to Right to Buy and procurement. 

Cases of the former increased from 526 in 2014/15 to 870 in 2015/16 while cases of the latter went from 114 in 2014/15 to 623 in 2015/16.

The average value of each fraud detected in 2015/16 was £1,000 more than last year (£3,500 compared to £2,500), suggesting local authorities are taking a more strategic approach to high-value frauds.

‘Local authorities are getting smarter and more effective,' Rachael Tiffen, head of the CIPFA's counter fraud centre said.

‘This is saving taxpayers' money and helping to get council houses, disabled parking badges and other vital services to the people who really need them.'

However, CIPFA warned that at least one in 10 councils do not have a dedicated counter-fraud team and urged authorities to tackle barriers to data sharing.