In case of enquiry contact: James Stevens

Direct Dial: (01223) 457731

Fax: (01223) 457739

Email: [email address]

Revenues & Benefits

Mr Richard Taylor

Richard Taylor <[FOI #9871 email]>

Dear Mr Taylor

Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The answers to your request are given below.

Could you please let me know if Cambridge City Council is a member of the "National Anti-Fraud Network" (NAFN) (1)?

Yes. Membership of NAFN his held on behalf of the City Council's Fraud Prevention Team based in the Revenues and Benefits Service.

If the council is a member, or uses the network's services, could you please release:

1. The contract (or equivalent document) between the council and the NAFN.

A copy of the service level agreement (SLA) between Cambridge City Council and NAFN is attached.

2. If not included in the contract, information on the costs to the council of being a member; including subscription fees, charges for services, and any staff or equipment made available to the network.

Annual charges for use of NAFN consist of a membership fee and fees paid for each use of NAFN services. For 2009/10 the membership fee is £1100 and a budget of £1475 has been set for service use. Cambridge City Council has not made any staff or equipment available to NAFN.

3. Information on the benefit the council has gained from its work with NAFN, including which services it has used, how often, and for what purposes.

The Fraud Prevention Team uses NAFN to obtain intelligence and evidence on our behalf as a cost-effective way of contributing to investigations of illegality. Typically this relates to investigations of benefit fraud.

4. Details of any safeguards in place to ensure that information is only requested from NAFN in circumstances where obtaining that information is proportionate.

All allegations of illegality are reviewed and investigations are only commenced when it is proportionate to do so. It is at this stage we would consider making a request to NAFN for intelligence or evidence to support an investigation.

Requests to NAFN must be signed by the Officer in Charge of the Investigation, and countersigned by a more senior officer. NAFN will only accept requests that are signed by authorised signatories.

Following the establishment of a NAFN “national centre”, new services such as live information (eg. on phone calls in progress) are to be offered by the NAFN from April 2009. (2) Could you please release any details you have about these new services. I would also like information relating to any decision the council has made to use, or not use, specific services offered.

Relevant Cambridge City Council officers receive regular bulletins and updates from NAFN. At this time we haven't received any notification from NAFN concerning these new services on offer to members. We are therefore not in a position to comment on whether or not we would make use of such services.

Finally, if Cambridge City Council is no longer a member of NAFN (there is evidence it was a member in 2005 (3)), could you let me know why, and when, it ceased to be a member.

Not applicable.

If you are not happy with the way in which your request has been dealt with please contact David Horspool, Director of Finance. You may also contact the Information Commissioner if you are still not happy with the way your request has been dealt with. The Information Commissioner's address is:

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

James Stevens

Fraud Prevention Team Leader

Cambridge City Council, Mandela House, 4 Regent Street, Cambridge CB2 1BY

Main Switchboard via Type Talk (non-speaking phone): 18001 01223 457000