The National Fraud Initiative

NHS England and NHS Improvement are required to protect the public funds they administer. They may share information provided to them with other bodies responsible for; auditing, or administering public funds, or where undertaking a public function, in order to prevent and detect fraud.

The Cabinet Office is 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 potentially fraudulent claims and payments to be identified. Where a match is found it may indicate 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.

We participate in the Cabinet Office’s National Fraud Initiative: a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud. We are required to provide particular sets of data to the Minister for the Cabinet Office for matching for each exercise.

The use of data by the Cabinet Office in a data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority under Part 6 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

Data matching by the Cabinet Office is subject to a Code of Practice. Should you wish to know more information on this Fair Processing Notice please see the more detailed full text. View further information on the Cabinet Office’s legal powers and the reasons why it matches particular information. For further information on data matching at NHS England and NHS Improvement contact our Counter Fraud team at england.counter-fraud@nhs.net

Legal basis for processing

For the GDPR purposes NHS England and NHS Improvement’s lawful basis for processing is Article 6(1)(e) – ‘…exercise of official authority…’, or where there is a legal obligation to share information Article 6(1)(c) – processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.