Fair Processing Notice

By law, we are required to protect the public funds we administer. To prevent and detect fraud, we may share information with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds. 

The Cabinet Office appoints an auditor to audit our accounts. It also carries out data matching exercises. This compares computer records (usually personal information) held by one body against other computer records (held by the same or another body) to see how far they match. 

Computerised data matching allows potentially fraudulent claims and payments to be identified. If a match is found, it may show an inconsistency or error which needs further investigation.

The Cabinet Office 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 Cabinet Office to match each exercise. This is set out on the National Fraud Initiative website. 

The use of data by the Cabinet Office 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 2018. 

Data matching by the Cabinet Office is subject to a Code of Practice.