A4e Provides Further Clarification on Slough Fraud Investigation

LONDON, February 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

A4e has zero tolerance towards fraud, and any instance of fraudulent or otherwise illegal activity is completely unacceptable.

We acknowledge the seriousness of any instance of fraud; however this incident must be seen in perspective. A4e employs over 3,500 staff across the UK and overseas, out of more than 250 offices. This incident relates to four people, so we are dealing with a very small number of individuals.

At A4e we take our responsibility as a public service provider very seriously. We are committed to using taxpayer's money appropriately and efficiently to deliver the best possible outcomes to the public.

The facts are that on Friday, 17 February, Thames Valley Police visited our offices for a mutually agreed meeting in relation to an allegation of fraud that was identified by A4e's internal processes and was reported to the authorities by the company.

The investigation is still ongoing, and it concerns four, former A4e front-line staff who were working on ESF contracts, and are alleged to have falsely claimed that customers had been placed into employment. To be clear, this is not an investigation into A4e.

This matter was uncovered as a result of effective whistle-blowing procedures in November 2010. A4e informed the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) within 48 hours following a local, internal investigation. Further investigation was carried out internally and DWP Risk Assurance Division (RAD) was contacted again in January  2011.

Further to this, at A4e's instigation, we performed a 100% validation check of all claims under this contract across all our staff for the period 01 April 2010 to 22 June 2011 when the contract ended. No further issues were found.

A joint RAD/A4e investigation started in January 2011. RAD made initial contact with Thames Valley Police in May 2011 and handed the case to them.

We have cooperated fully with DWP and Thames Valley Police throughout this investigation, and will continue to do so.

This contract was based on a paper-based system, used by all providers. Paper-based systems are less robust and therefore open to abuse where individuals are so minded. A new computer-based system was introduced for FND and will be up-graded by DWP and be in place later this year.

Three of the staff involved were suspended once the allegations had been made to allow for full investigation. The other had already left the business. All have now left the business.

Our auditing system was fully reviewed by the external, independent consultants, Deloitte - no concerns were raised in relation to the delivery of the ESF contract in this region.

Contact details:

Peta Sweet
Head of Communications of A4e
PSweet@a4e.co.UK
+44(0)7748966289

Chloe August
Senior Account Manager, PHA Media
Chloe@pha-media.com
+44(0)7590852016