AWARD WINNERS GALLERY 2026
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Congratulations to this year’s Winners! Official photos to follow in the next few days.
We will email everyone that attended the awards or was Shortlisted as soon as they are available.
Jasmine Bell
Counter Fraud Intelligence Officer, Hertfordshire Shared Anti-Fraud Service (SAFS)
WINNER: Apprentice or Newcomer of the Year 2026
Sponsored by:
For the individual who has made impressive progress in a short space of time and shows huge potential to go further:
Since joining the sector in early 2023, Jasmine has quickly become the highest-performing Intelligence Officer at SAFS. She has detected over £410,000 in fraud and recovered five social homes while concurrently achieving Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist status. A national lead in communications data analysis, Jasmine has shared her expertise at major conferences, proving herself a courageous and meticulous professional who delivers exceptional results for the public purse.
Emma Cathcart
Head of Service, Counter Fraud and Enforcement Unit
WINNER: Female Pioneer of the Year 2026
Sponsored by:
A remarkable individual whose achievements stand as a testament to her outstanding performance and the positive influence she has had on her organisation and the broader community:
Emma built the Counter Fraud and Enforcement Unit from the ground up, transforming a pilot into a thriving shared service serving 16 partner councils and organisations. A relentless investigator and strategic leader, she recently oversaw a complex multi-council prosecution resulting in a three-year prison sentence and a £250,000 recovery. Emma’s expertise in financial stewardship and her success in embedding a proactive fraud-prevention culture have made her a trusted advisor across local government.
Alison Atkins
Senior Counter Fraud Manager, Government Internal Audit Agency
WINNER: GCFP Member or Contributor of the Year 2026
In collaboration with:
For members of or contributors to the Government Counter Fraud Profession who have demonstrated the values in the Profession’s Code of Conduct and who have gone above and beyond:
Alison Atkins:
Alison has been a central driver in professionalising the sector through her leadership on the GCFP Prevention Standard. She went beyond her remit to design, test, and roll out the Fraud Risk Assessment learning programme, ensuring robust standards across government. By revising Civil Service Learning content and advocating for GovS 013 alignment, Alison has dismantled departmental silos, establishing a collaborative, cross-government framework for continuous professional development.
Fraud and Security Management Service, NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB
WINNER: Outstanding NHS Initiative 2026
Sponsored by:
The winner of this award exemplifies innovation, dedication, and effectiveness in tackling fraud-related challenges within the NHS:
The Fraud and Security Management Service addressed a critical patient safety risk by uncovering a national trend of "imposter" agency workers. Through a 36-month initiative, the team identified 250 fraudulent shifts and over £150k in losses, leading to criminal action against perpetrators and the first national NHSCFA alert on this threat. By collaborating with police and regulatory bodies, they institutionalised mandatory ID-to-roster photo matching and audit-verified identity controls nationwide, significantly strengthening temporary workforce governance and board-level assurance across the health service.
Heidi Flux, Senior Leader, CFCD Southern, DWP
Lindsay Tickle, Head of DWP CFCD National Delivery and Assurance Service
WINNERS: Outstanding Leadership Award 2026
This award is for the individual of any grade who is an effective leader, motivates others to deliver to their potential and manages projects and/or teams to deliver improved outcomes:
Heidi transformed a period of operational uncertainty into a national success story for the Fareham Interventions team. By empowering staff to lead on complex Pension Credit capital cases, she facilitated over £505k in savings this financial year. Her leadership is defined by a commitment to autonomy and inclusive recruitment, successfully upskilling her workforce and establishing a resilient, high-performance culture that has set a benchmark for quality across the directorate.
Lindsay exemplifies inspirational, inclusive leadership that motivates colleagues across a demanding and far-reaching portfolio. She builds a culture where every voice is heard and valued, celebrates contributions, and transforms pressure into confidence and resilience through unwavering support. Her people centred approach transcends hierarchy, mentors widely, engages personally, and recognises achievements in ways that strengthen trust and belonging across an extensive counter fraud operation. She is a role model and a true champion for her people.
Sponsored by:
Counter Fraud Team -
London Borough of Hillingdon
WINNER: Local Excellence Award 2026
The local excellence awards recognises the Local Authority and the people within them, whose innovative and singular determination to combat fraud has prevented public funds being stolen by fraudsters:
Hillingdon Council operates one of London’s largest local authority fraud teams, delivering over £22m in savings across the last two financial years. The team pioneered a whole-system proactive approach, including unannounced emergency accommodation residency checks that saved £745k and a record recovery of 112 council properties. By integrating counter-fraud skill sets into revenue maximisation and debt recovery, Hillingdon has established a high-yield, risk-based model that currently sets the benchmark for metropolitan borough excellence and sector leadership.
ERSOU Proactive Economic Crime Team (PECT)
WINNER: Team of the Year 2026
The Team of the Year Award has been designed to recognise each and every member of the team and show how their teamwork has led to success and their consistent service:
The ERSOU PECT is a highly integrated unit of 25 specialists, including detectives, intelligence analysts, and financial investigators, serving the Eastern Region. What defines this team is its cohesive, "cradle-to-grave" approach, where intelligence development and asset recovery are fused into a single operational workflow. Known for a culture of "selfless collaboration," the unit functions as a regional hub, not only dismantling high-harm fraud networks but also providing critical investigative support to over a dozen partner agencies. Their success is rooted in this structural unity, ensuring that every operation prioritises both criminal justice and victim restitution.
Sponsored by:
Hertfordshire Shared Anti-Fraud Service (SAFS)
Project Corfu, Ofgem’s Counter Fraud and Audit Triage teams
WINNERS: Innovation in Fraud Prevention 2026
This award is designed to recognise one central government initiative and one wider public sector initiative that have been developed, implemented, and subsequently had a positive impact in preventing fraud or potential fraud activity:
Celebrating a decade of excellence, SAFS is a high-performing Counter Fraud partnership protecting public funds across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, and the wider public sector. Through innovation, such as its pioneering "Fraud Hub" and embedded staffing model, SAFS identified £14 million in fraud losses in 2024/25 alone - delivering an exceptional 10:1 return on investment. By combining advanced data analytics with criminal investigations, fraud prevention activities, and community outreach, SAFS has created a sustainable, national model for local authority resilience and cross-sector collaboration.
Ofgem’s "Project Corfu" used AI and advanced data analytics to protect the Boiler Upgrade Scheme from sophisticated organized fraud. By cross-referencing behavioural datasets and installer networks, the team identified a web of collusion involving fictitious heat pump installations. This proactive intervention detected £682,500 in fraud and prevented a further £1.5 million in losses, ensuring that critical Net Zero funding is preserved for legitimate consumers and genuine environmental progress.
Sponsored by:
George Loosley
Senior Fraud Risk Assessor, Department for Education
WINNER: Outstanding Contribution Award 2026
This peer-nominated award recognises someone exceptional - innovators, passionate influencers, and those delivering real and positive change. An individual who has been influential and has significantly contributed to making a visible difference to Counter Fraud during their career to date:
George has transformed the impact of Fraud Risk Assessments within the Department for Education, covering over £35bn in previously unassessed public funding. He spearheaded the reform across DfE registers, plugging a £14.2m fraud gap, and led a ground-breaking national engagement with every Local Authority to assess funding controls. By pioneering cross-government data sharing and navigating complex Higher Education risks, George’s innovative approach has provided the evidentiary base to secure potential savings in the tens of millions.
The National Right to Buy Anti-Fraud Service, National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN), hosted by Tameside Council, and National Hunter
WINNER: Public/Private Partnership Excellence Award 2026
This award seeks to identify and promote public / private engagements that whose best practice, learning and approaches have brought better value for money for the taxpayer:
This model for public-private collaboration, bridges the intelligence gap between local government and the financial sector. By uniting NAFN’s investigative oversight with National Hunter’s network of 90 financial institutions, the partnership has prevented over £6 million in fraudulent housing sales. This unique two-way exchange allows both sectors to flag anomalies in real-time, creating a unified defence that protects public assets and sets a national standard for cross-sector fraud prevention.
Customer Experience, Attraction and Retention Team
CFCD, Department for Work and Pensions
WINNER: Champion for Culture & Inclusion 2026
For the team or department that have led on actions to remove barriers, improve the working experience, engagement levels of employees and enable talented employees from underrepresented groups to realise their full potential.
The Recruitment Customer Experience Team has redefined the hiring culture for 10,000 colleagues by placing inclusion at the center of its growth strategy. By simplifying job adverts and hosting awareness sessions for 8,000 candidates, they have halved attrition rates and successfully onboarded over 1,800 new staff so far this year. From life-changing "Movement to Work" placements to national-leading apprenticeship schemes, the team is building a diverse, high-performing workforce that reflects the communities it serves.
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