National Fraud Initiative
Bromsgrove District Council is required by law
to protect the public funds it administers. It may share
information provided to it with other bodies responsible for
auditing or administering public funds, in order to prevent and
detect fraud.
The Audit Commission appoints the auditor to
audit the accounts of the Council. It is also responsible for
carrying out data matching exercises.
Data Matching
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 indicates 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.
Audit Commission Guidance
The Audit Commission currently requires us to
participate in a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention
and detection of fraud. We are required to provide particular sets
of data to the Audit Commission for matching for each exercise.
These are set out in the Audit Commission’s guidance on their
website.
The use of data by the Audit Commission in a
data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority
under its powers in Part 2A of the Audit Commission Act 1998. It
does not require the consent of the individuals concerned under the
Data Protection Act 1998.
Code of Practice
Data matching by the Audit Commission is
subject to a Code of Practice. This may be found on the Audit
Commission website.
Further Information
For further information on the Audit
Commission’s legal powers and the reasons why it matches particular
information, visit their website.
Other Websites
