Personal information and the National Fraud Initiative
We are required by law to protect the public funds we administer. In order to prevent and detect fraud, we may share the information you and other people provide with other authorities responsible for auditing or administering public funds.
The Cabinet Office conducts a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud and this is called the National Fraud Initiative (NFI). This is one of the ways in which the Minister for the Cabinet Office takes responsibility within government for public sector efficiency and reform.
What is data matching?
Data matching involves comparing sets of data, such as the payroll or benefits records of a body, against other records held by the same or another body to see how far they match. The data is usually personal information. The data matching allows potentially fraudulent claims and payments to be identified. Where a match is found, it may indicate that there is an inconsistency that requires further investigation. No assumption can be made as to whether there is fraud, error or other explanation until an investigation is carried out.
The processing of data by the Cabinet Office in a data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority. It does not require the consent of the individuals concerned under the Data Protection law.
The National Fraud Initiative is conducted using the data matching powers bestowed on the Minister for the Cabinet Office by Part 6 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (LAAA).
All bodies participating in the Cabinet Office's data matching exercises receive a report of matches that they should investigate, to detect instances of fraud, over- or under-payments and other errors, to take remedial action and update their records accordingly.
For information describing which datasets are matched by the Cabinet Office, please refer to the Cabinet Office's guidance on the Code of data matching practice for the National Fraud Initiative. (opens new window) The document 'NFI match types per participating body' summarises the various match types for each particular type of participating organisation.
Code of practice
Data matching by the Cabinet Office is subject to a code of practice. (opens new window) The purpose of this code is to help ensure that the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) and everyone involved in NFI data matching exercises comply with the law, especially the provisions of Data Protection law. It also promotes good practice in data matching.
The code is subject to review following completion of each NFI exercise. Any changes proposed to the code will be consulted upon before a new code is finalised and laid before Parliament.