High Peak Borough Council is required by law to protect the public funds we administer. We may share information provided to us 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 our Council accounts. We are also responsible for carrying out data matching exercises.
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 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.
The Audit Commission currently requires us to participate in a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. The Audit Commission requires High Peak Borough Council to provide information we hold for this purpose.
We are required to provide particular sets of data to the Audit Commission for matching for each exercise, and these are set out in the Audit Commission’s guidance, which can be found at www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nfi (external 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.
This does not require the consent of the individuals concerned, under the Data Protection Act 1998.
Data matching by the Audit Commission is subject to a Code of Practice, which is currently undergoing a period of consultation. This may be viewed at www.audit-commission.gov.uk/nfi/codeofdmp.asp (external website**).
For more details about the Audit Commission’s legal powers and the reasons why it matches particular information, visit www.auditcommission.gov.uk/nfi/fptext.asp (external website**), to see the Level 3 Notice on the Audit Commission website, or contact the Head of National Fraud Initiative, Peter Yetzes, on 0844 798 2222, or email nfiqueries@audit-commission.gov.uk.
For further information on data matching at High Peak Borough Council, contact Frauds and Interventions Manager, Jayne Bingham, on 0845 129 7777 or 01298 28400, extension 4477, or email customer-services@highpeak.gov.uk.
**Please note: High Peak Borough Council is not responsible for the content of any external websites.