Durham County Council fraud case study - Civica

Civica Case StudyDurham County Council tackles fraudcaseload faster with Civica FraudSolutions platformCommon database and streamlined processes helps improve team efficiency andwidens investigative options in the futureBackgroundDurham County Council needed to consolidate its fraud investigation service’s ITsystems after it became a unitary authority in 2009. It also wanted to be ready toaddress emerging areas, such as social care or corporate fraud identified in the AuditCommission’s ‘Protecting the Public Purse’ report. These were tough challenges giventhat the authority was already merging the business processes and IT systems of theseven constituent authorities. The merger programme also included consolidatingseven fraud investigation software systems into a central platform used across theunitary.BenefitsImproved front line prevention anddetection of fraudImprove departmental efficiencyHolistic view of caseloadPlatform for future investigation toolsMore accurate reporting from thesingle databaseEnhanced reporting to support HBMSand DWP requirementsCivica facilitated the fraud investigation team’s software systems modernisation with asingle integrated database and data matching technology with its award-winning CivicaFraud Solutions. The product was also integrated into its OPENRevenues platform aspart of a wider efficiency programmeChallengeDurham County Council’s fraud investigation team faced a complex challenge inmodernising its investigation and reporting applications after the council became alarge unitary authority in 2009. The authority had thousands of fraud cases toinvestigate - one of the biggest benefit and related fraud caseloads in the country. Thisincluded an average of one hundred new notifications added each month from systemchecks, reports and tip-offs from the public.The investigation team also needed to merge the seven constituent authorities’investigation systems into one platform as part of the wider consolidation of ICT andreporting systems post-merger: no easy task given that the pre-merger councilsoperated five different proprietary fraud software systems.The Durham fraud investigation team knew it had to build a single centraliseddatabase and streamline processes. By making greater use of electronic rather thanpaper-based procedures, the team could effectively deal with the complex and growingworkload. Departmental staff also wanted scope for additional fraud investigationssoftware applications to be developed and built into existing modules for caseworkdemands in the future.London, UKTel: +44 (0) 20 7760 28002 Burston Road, LondonSW15 6ARmarketing@civica.co.ukwww.civica.co.ukLeeds, UKTel: +44 (0) 113 244 1404Vanguard House, Dewsbury RoadLeeds LS11 5DDmarketing@civica.co.ukwww.civica.co.uk

The team’s workload was complicated by other factors. It included regular butelaborate tasks such as reporting HBMS progress with both the DWP andHMRC. This entailed the fraud investigation team regularly using complexapplications to review the state of play on casework progress with thesepartners. Durham’s investigation team also knew it would need modernsystems that could accommodate potential areas of investigation of all NonWelfare Benefit frauds such as social care , schools, tenancy, Insurance andalso procurement fraud as well as dealing with any frauds that may beperpetrated against the new Council Tax Replacement and Social FundDevolvement schemes that are due for implementation in April 2013.SolutionsWorking with Civica’s local government systems experts, Durham decided tocarry out the standardisation of processes and systems, particularly differentlocal offices’ databases, to support the fraud investigation team. To ensurethat harmonising systems and data was a manageable task that didn’tundermine daily operations, Civica delivered a phased programme to migrateto a single database. The Civica Fraud Solutions product was installedfollowing a thorough data mapping process, ensuring that a single fraudinvestigation platform could be set up without adversely affecting data relatingto a total of 9,000 cases.Each outlying office’s data was cleaned and migrated to the new, centralsystem in turn. Civica then implemented its Civica Fraud Solutions softwarewhich enabled the project team to build the bespoke modules to streamlineprocesses and improve case management, including providing an overview ofcases being handled.The Durham team also wanted the system to be configured so that it could beincorporated with the revenues and benefits department’s systems to boostinvestigative and system checking abilities."We have successfully consolidated five systems’information onto a single database to work moreeffectively. Civica enabled us to streamlineprocesses across all seven sites while facilitatingfuture platforms for greater sharing of resourcesto tackle fraud."Sara NewtonFraud Investigation Officer, Durham CountyCouncilAbout CivicaCivica (www.civica.co.uk) is a market leader inspecialist systems and business processservices that help organisations around theworld to transform the way they work. Throughexperienced people who understand servicedelivery, the Group applies software, managedservices and outsourcing to help customersstreamline their activities. Civica supplies morethan 2,000 organisations in the UK, Australia,New Zealand, Singapore, Canada and theUSA, helping our customers to achieve asuccessful and more cost-efficient way ofworking.To address these particular needs, Civica, as part of the programmeimplementation, integrated Civica Fraud Solution with the company’sOPENRevenues product. The fraud investigation team now has simple andsecure access to all of its information in one central source. Staff can manageworkloads more effectively and the enhanced reporting reduces errors andthe checking time needed to avert them. Departmental staff can see teamcaseloads through the holistic view of all cases that the system provides.The Civica Fraud Solutions platform will assist Durham’s investigation team tobecome more proactive in preventing and detecting fraud using their newsingle fraud database. Durham may also be looking into harnessing to stopother non-benefit frauds through the access of information held within theauthority’s different systems from a single point. This flexible platform will alsoenable Durham’s team to develop its applications or integrate additional frauddetection software tools into daily operations in the future.With tighter processes and optimisation of staff resources, Durham is alsobetter placed to launch investigations of activities (or buy specialist softwaretools) such as procurement fraud, illegal housing tenancies, social care fraudetc.Despite the welfare system inevitably attracting an increase in false claims, thefraud investigation team has the data insights and tools to handle thesegrowing operations.London, UKTel: +44 (0) 20 7760 28002 Burston Road, LondonSW15 6ARmarketing@civica.co.ukwww.civica.co.ukLeeds, UKTel: +44 (0) 113 244 1404Vanguard House, Dewsbury RoadLeeds LS11 5DDmarketing@civica.co.ukwww.civica.co.uk