The Trust 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 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.

The Cabinet Office currently requires us to participate in a data matching exercise to assist in the prevention and detection of fraud.  The processing of data by the Cabinet Office in a data matching exercise is carried out with statutory authority under its powers in Part 6 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.  It does not require the consent of the individuals concerned under data protection legislation or the GDPR.

We are required to provide particular sets of data to the Cabinet Office for matching for each exercise, and these are set out in the Cabinet Office’s guidance

The National Fraud Initiative privacy notice sets out how the Cabinet Office will use personal data and an individual’s rights. Read the privacy notice here.

For further information on data matching at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, contact:

Beth Durcan, Anti-Crime Specialist

Tel: 07980717104

Email: beth.durcan@nhs.net

Andrew Ede, Anti-Crime Specialist

Tel: 07814285177

Email: andrew.ede1@nhs.net