Everyone should have a right to a roof over their heads in a civilised society, which is why we have a network of social housing providers for those who cannot afford to buy or privately rent their own home.

Which is as it should be, but unfortunately there will always be those who seek to abuse the system either because they want a property they are not really entitled to or they wish to make profit in some way from the provision of social housing.

There are thought to be almost 100,000 council houses and housing association homes across the UK which are occupied by people who should not be living there – either because they have obtained the tenancy through false pretences, they have moved out but keep on their tenancy for their own reasons, or they are renting it without permission from the person rightfully on the tenancy.

This is not only an abuse of the social housing initiative, especially when people are illegally renting out a property in their name to someone else, but it is blocking up the waiting lists and preventing genuine cases from obtaining the home they deserve.

Now Bradford Council’s fraud team is joining forces with similar departments in other local authorities and social housing companies to crack down on the housing fraud cheats.

They want residents to pass on information about anyone who might be acting fraudulently when it comes to social housing. Blowing the whistle in this way is not un-neighbourly – it is simply ensuring that everyone gets the right sort of house and those who follow the rules don’t lose out to those who seek to cheat the system and either jump queues or line their own pockets.