Vigilant’s Secure Data Sharing Platform has been described as, “arguably the best example of digital transformation in local government”

Find out here how Vigilant’s Secure Data Sharing Platform for local authorities recoups £3.3 million in cash in this digital transformation focus with Andy Craig and Joseph Gurden

What is digital transformation in local government?
At Vigilant, we see digital transformation as the process by which local authorities (LAs) embrace digital technologies across their entire operations to drive fundamental change and derive significant benefits. The key benchmark for LAs is increased efficiency through business intelligence derived from existing data and assets to benefit all residents financially and through improved services.

The benefits of digital transformation can be clearly identified where there is a ‘need’ associated with a defined and measurable return on investment (ROI). Such a requirement undeniably exists in the area of council tax and benefit fraud.

Since the Audit Commission report back in 2013, LAs have been grappling with the knowledge that between 3% and 11% of claims for council tax discounts or exemptions could be fraudulent. Revenue and benefits departments throughout the country have struggled, with largely manual data-matching processes, to identify fraudulent claims with limited success. Investigations have rarely taken account of ‘cross border’ intelligence that would flag duplicate claims. Neighbouring authorities, bound by the Data Protection Act of the day, just didn’t have the means or confidence to share sensitive information securely.

They have hailed Vigilant’s work with 15 LAs across Essex as “arguably the best example of digital transformation in local government” and have already recouped over £3.3 million in real cash. By delivering the Pan Essex Secure Data Sharing Platform, with its powerful proprietary analytics and correlation software VigilancePro®, Vigilant has enabled the Essex LAs to combat council tax and benefit fraud by securely sharing and matching datasets.

Digital transformation: ‘Secure First’ approach

In choosing Vigilant, the Essex councils followed a commendable ‘Secure First’ approach to digital transformation – identifying a partner with high-level security accreditation and a track record in the public sector for handling sensitive data at scale. Vigilant’s credentials are exemplary, from protecting patient records within the NHS, to upholding professional standards for the UK’s major
police forces.

The Pan Essex Councils were refreshingly forward-thinking, demonstrating a willingness to adopt digital tools to challenge the overly cautious approach to information exchange that still exists in local government. The potential ROI associated with recouping fraudulent discounts and exemptions was a key business driver for the participating authorities. The Pan Essex Data Sharing Platform, with the VigilancePro Counter Fraud application, became fully operational in 2018.

Each LA was provided with its own branded user interface (UI) and secure local sign-on, enabling the exchange of data extracts amongst individual councils and countywide. Through Vigilant’s interrogation of multi-format and unstructured data, inaccuracies or suspicious claims relating to single- person discounts, single occupancy, etc., could be identified, and payments recouped, returning real ‘cash’ to the public body.

Unlike the national fraud initiatives, the Pan Essex system is real-time and largely automated – the workflow is intuitive and follows the LAs existing case-handling procedures. The individual authority dashboards provide a comprehensive cumulative report of fraudulent claims recouped over time for inclusion in an Essex-wide leaderboard, encouraging friendly rivalry for benefits teams across borders.

The Vigilant platform is fully GDPR compliant, with a proprietary architecture which upholds the principles of ‘data minimisation’. It provides an additional layer of security by only sharing the ‘outcomes’ of data matching across councils rather than the data itself.

Digital transformation: Results

Vigilant’s Counter Fraud application provided a full ROI within the first six months of going live. Apart from the monetary returns, the system continues to help Essex authorities automatically improve the quality of their data by identifying misspellings and irregularities, significantly reducing false positives.

Digital transformation evolution

Having adopted innovative digital transformation and developed a culture of securely sharing information, the Essex LAs identified additional efficiencies the platform could deliver using the same datasets and requiring little or no extra council effort.

Digital transformation development and applications

Today, alongside Counter Fraud, another application known as VIPER sits on the Secure Data Sharing Platform. Developed by Vigilant, the Vulnerable Intelligent Persons Emergency Response application ensures that LAs throughout Essex comply with the Civil Contingencies Act, 2004. The legislation requires councils to protect vulnerable persons within their jurisdiction in the event of a local emergency.

Sharing datasets across council boundaries and instantly identifying those at risk means the Vigilant VIPER application can provide an evacuation plan for the emergency teams in a matter of minutes. The integrated VIPER mobile application also delivers real-time operational information to those on the ground, directing resources to the most vulnerable as an emergency unfolds.

Futureproof digital transformation?

The Vigilant Pan Essex Secure Data Sharing Platform incorporates the highest levels of security compliance and innovation and now underpins a growing culture of closer cooperation throughout Essex. All 15 LAs have experienced the positive impact of digital transformation and expect the platform to integrate with other applications, yielding further operational efficiencies and monetary returns in the future.