BASINGSTOKE Council lost more than £200,000 of public money in almost 300 unique cases of fraud or error last year, it has been revealed.

But details about individual cases have been kept hidden from the public, a senior councillor has said. 

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council lost £216,848.36 of public funds, covering council tax discounts, housing benefits and Covid-19 grants in the 2020-21 financial year.

This included three fraudulent grants paid out under the Covid-19 business grant schemes, totalling £45,000.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance have said that council tax payers are likely to lose out, calling on local authorities to “ramp up efforts to crack down on fraudsters”.

You can read the full story in this week’s edition of The Gazette and online tomorrow. Also in this week's paper:

  • Asbestos has been found at Basingstoke’s aquadrome and will mean that the lagoon and water slides will not reopen until after the summer holidays, The Gazette can reveal.
  • A Basingstoke street turned into a film set on Monday evening for what is thought to be a BBC adaption of Kate Atkinson’s bestselling novel Life After Life, starring Thomasin McKenzie, Sian Clifford and James McArdle.
  • John Lewis has now permanently closed its Basingstoke branch following a consultation, leaving 93 people facing redundancy and the council in the dark. 
  • Discussions regarding the future of a Basingstoke retail park are “confidential” the borough council has said. 
  • A new shop selling environmentally friendly period products is set to open in Basingstoke.
  • A man who was stabbed in the face said he was attacked because his former friend was jealous, a jury has heard. 
  • A Basingstoke man and his granddaughter have appeared in a campaign to end food poverty. 
  • The family of a motorcyclist killed in a crash near Basingstoke earlier this month have said that “life won’t be the same without him”.
  • PLUS: All the latest from Basingstoke Magistrates' Court.
  • Two pages of your letters to the editor.
  • Pictures: Basingstoke Festival kicks off in style
  • The latests news from our communities.
  • An eight-page puzzle special.
  • Business news.
  • Three pages of entertainment news.
  • Three pages of sports news. And much more!