National Fraud Initiative
National Fraud Initiative 2008-2009
Lancaster City Council has a legal duty to protect the public funds it administers and to take measures to prevent and detect fraud. Some of these measures include sharing information with other bodies responsible for administering and auditing public funds.
One of these measures is the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) a statutory nationwide drive to crack down on the amount of public money lost each year through fraud.
Administered by the Audit Commission, the NFI is the largest public sector anti-fraud exercise carried out in the UK, with a 2006/07 exercise resulting in savings of £140million nationally.
As part of the 2008/09 NFI data matching exercise we are required to provide sets of data to the Audit Commission including data relating to trade creditors, residents' parking permits and concessionary travel passes, insurance claimaints, licenses (including taxi drivers, personal licenses to sell alcohol, market traders/operators) and housing (right to buy tenants). In 2009 this will be extended to include council tax and electoral registration data. The detailed specification of these data sets is set out in the Audit Commission's NFI Handbook.
Data matching involves comparing computer records held by one body against other computer records held by the same or another body. This is invariably personal information and is therefore subject to the provisions of the Data Protection and Human Rights Acts. Computerised data matching allows potentially fraudulent or erroneous claims and payments to be identified. Where a match is found it indicates that there is an inconsistency which requires further investigation, although no assumption is made as to whether there is fraud, error or other explanation until an investigation has been carried out.
Data matching by the Audit Commission is subject to a Code of Practice. For further information on the Audit Commission’s legal powers and more detailed explanations why it matches particular information, see www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nfi/fptext.asp or contact Peter Yetzes, Head of National Fraud Initiative on 0844 798 2222 or email nfiqueries@audit-commission.gov.uk.