National Fraud Initiative

Magherafelt 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 Local Government Auditor audits the accounts of this Council. 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.

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. The records generally contain personal information. However, as 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 who are the data subjects as would otherwise be the case under the Data Protection Act 1998.

The Comptroller and Auditor General currently requires the Council to participate in a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. This exercise is known as the National Fraud Initiative.

As part of the National Fraud Initiative the Council is required to provide particular sets of data to the Comptroller and Auditor General for matching. This data will be matched against data from other sources to identify potential inconsistencies, i.e. matches, which could be indications of fraudulent payments or claims.

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.

Data matching by the Comptroller and Auditor General is subject to a Code of Practice. This may be found at http://www.niauditoffice.gov.uk

If you would like further information on the Comptroller and Auditor General's legal powers and the reasons why he matches particular information, you should visit http://www.niauditoffice.gov.uk