The Audit Commission
Cheshire Constabulary 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 Audit Commission appoints auditors to audit the accounts of
the Constabulary. It is 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 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 Audit Commission 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
Audit Commission for matching for each exercise, and these are set
out in the Audit
Commission’s guidance.
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. It 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.
Further information on the
Audit Commission’s legal powers and the reasons why it matches
particular information is available on the Audit Commission
website.