Councillor admits £8k benefit fraud

Ian Hollinshead, a member of Staffordshire County Council and Stafford Borough Council, admitted falsely claiming housing and council tax benefits for nearly three years when he appeared at Stafford Magistrates Court yesterday.

The 55-year-old, who remains a councillor for Stafford North on the county council and Littleworth ward on the borough council but has been suspended by the Labour Party, failed to declare changes in his employment.

The court heard that his benefits claim had been made on the basis he worked for Tesco but he had failed to declare he had started working for the Grass Roots group on a zero-hour contract.

Mr Simon Belfield, prosecuting, said he was overpaid by £7,854.17 between April 2011 and March 2014, but has since repaid the amount in full.

Mr Belfield said his average weekly earnings had been £117.14 while at Tesco but had risen to £162.16 in his new job.

The court heard that the weekly allowances he had received as a borough councillor had also risen from £53.09 in 2011 to just over £70 in 2014, although he failed to declare this.

Mr Belfield said he became a county councillor in 2013 but had not declared receiving more than £500 a month in allowances for that role.

Hollinshead, whose wife Sharon Hollinshead was elected onto Stafford Borough Council as a councillor for Coton last year, also failed to declare allowances he received for being on the Staffordshire Fire and Rescue authority board and self-employed earnings, the court heard.

Mr Belfield said his income, not including from self-employment, had been nearly £9,000 in 2011 but had risen to about £22,500 by 2014.

Hollinshead, of Yarlet Croft, Stafford, admitted two counts of benefit fraud when he appeared at court yesterday.

Mr David Green, mitigating, said he had made admissions when interviewed and expressed remorse.

He said: "It's a case really of naivety on Mr Hollinshead's part.

"These are administrative failings on his part rather than anything more sinister than that."

He said Hollinshead ran two businesses from home, although had not made a profit.

Mr Green said he had worked in the best interests of people since becoming a borough councillor in 2011 and never claimed any expenses on top of his allowances.

He was fined £405 and ordered to pay £300 costs and £20 victim surcharge.

Speaking on Hollinshead's behalf after the case, Mr Green said: "He would like to highlight this wasn't a case involving any dishonesty.

"He accepts he acted naively at times and hadn't given his personal finances the level of attention he should have done.

"He just wants to get back to serving the people of Stafford."

A West Midlands Labour Party spokesman said: "Councillor Hollinshead remains suspended from the Labour party pending the conclusion of an internal investigation."