National Fraud Initiative - Data Matching Exercise - Level 2 Notice
The County Council is required by law to protect the public funds it administers. We share information provided to us with other bodies responsible for auditing, administering public funds or where undertaking a public function, in order to prevent and detect fraud.
The Cabinet Office is responsible for carrying out data matching exercises nationally.
Data matching involves comparing computer records held by one body against other computer records held by the same or another body to see how far they match. This is usually personal information. Computerised data matching allows potentially fraudulent claims and payments to be identified. Where a match is found it may indicate that there is an inconsistency which requires further investigation. No assumption can be made as to whether there is fraud, error or other explanation until an investigation is carried out.
We participate in the Cabinet Office’s National Fraud Initiative: a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. We are required to provide particular sets of data to the Minister for the Cabinet Office for matching for each exercise. For the County Council, the primary data provided relates to:
- Trade creditors
- Grant recipients
- Personal budgets and social care payments
- Private supported care home residents
- Pensions
- Payroll
- Licences
- Transport passes and permits
Full details on the data provided and how it is collected and used by the Cabinet Office can be found in the National Fraud Initiative privacy notice on the GOV.UK website.
The use of data by the Cabinet Office in a data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority under Part 6 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. It does not require the consent of the individuals concerned under data protection legislation.
Data matching by the Cabinet Office is subject to a Code of Practice that can be found on the GOV.UK website. This also provides further details on the Cabinet Office’s legal powers and the reasons why it matches particular information.
Contact
For further information on data matching, please email Internal.Audit@cambridgeshire.gov.uk.
