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National Fraud Initiative
We are participating in an exercise to promote the proper spending of public money.We are required 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.
Local Government Auditor
The Local Government Auditor (part of the NI Audit Office) audits our accounts. The NI Audit Office, headed by the Comptroller and Auditor General, is responsible for carrying out data matching exercises under his powers in Articles 4A to 4G of the Audit and Accountability (Northern Ireland) Order 2003.What is data matching?
Data matching involves comparing computer records held by one body against other computer records held by the same or another body. 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.
The Comptroller and Auditor General 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 Local Government Auditor for matching.
Details are set out on the Northern Ireland Audit Office website
If the exercise is carried out by the Audit Commission, on his behalf, details can be found on the Audit Commision website
The use of data by the Comptroller and Auditor General 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 Act 1998.
