PENDLE Council has been praised by a Government watchdog for its efforts to combat benefit fraud.

The Audit Commission has given a seal of approval to the authority's benefits and fraud sections after looking into their work.

Many of the procedures used by the council's fraud unit, including visits to benefit claimants and the use of computer techniques to identify large-scale fraud, should be taken on by all local authorities, said the Commission.

Last year, the anti-fraud unit detected the equivalent of £600,000 in housing and council tax benefit fraud, well above the Government's £200,000 target, and the council was rewarded with a £80,000 subsidy for its good work.

Pendle pays out £13 million in housing benefit and £4 million in council tax benefit every year.

Derek Thomas, the council's revenue manager, said: "The Audit Commission was very impressed with many of our procedures to reduce fraud."

Councillor John David, chairman of the resource management committee, added: "Council tax payers need to be reassured that benefit payments which now amount to more than £17 million a year in Pendle are only paid to qualifying recipients."

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