DORSET councils say they are already tackling fraud in the wake of the latest government money-saving proposal.

Local government secretary Eric Pickles has announced a 10-point counter-fraud blueprint, which he said could help local authorities in England save £2 billion a year.

He said money lost to fraud and error amounted to £95 for every household in England.

In times of unprecedented cuts, Mr Pickles wants councils to come down hard on fraud in housing tenancy, procurement, pay, pensions, recruitment, council tax, grants and blue badge schemes.

He has asked the National Fraud Authority to develop the Annual Fraud Indicator, which includes recommendations to use credit rating agencies to stop tax evasion and benefit fraud, carry out staff background checks, and a host of other measures.

Keith Bowers, corporate governance manager at Bournemouth council, said: “The council agrees with the importance of tackling fraud and that is why we have in place policies to support the detection of fraud and to encourage reporting of concerns.

“The council has a dedicated benefits fraud team, which investigates suspected fraud in respect of benefits. Any other type of suspected fraud is robustly investigated by our internal audit staff.”

He added that the council involved police where necessary and co-operated with the Audit Commission.

Ian Milner, head of audit and management assurance at the Borough of Poole, added: “The council does not tolerate fraud or corruption and a number of measures are in place to reduce losses to an absolute minimum.

“We have a team in place to tackle internal corporate fraud and a separate specialist team to address housing benefit fraud.

“Borough of Poole is also a member of the National Anti-Fraud Network and liaises closely with the police and other partner agencies.

“All 10 ways suggested by Eric Pickles to tackle local authority fraud have previously been considered by the council.

“Counter fraud and corruption arrangements are regularly reviewed to reflect national developments to strengthen systems and procedures.”

Leader of Dorset County Council Angus Campbell said: “Dorset County Council has a number of controls and procedures in place to help tackle fraud and corruption.

“Staff and members are encouraged to remain vigilant and report any concerns they might have.”