The Kent Intelligence Network (KIN) and Destin Solutions have been short listed for the ‘best initiative in combatting fraud’ and ‘best use of technology in risk management’ in the ALARM Risk awards following a joint submission focussed on tackling small business rates relief (SBRR) fraud.
ALARM’s aim is to support risk management professionals within Local and Central Government and related sectors, promoting excellence in risk management across the UK, representing the interests of risk professionals and developing industry leading best practice for those managing risk.
The ‘best initiative in combatting fraud’ award recognises those organisations who have led on or supported the implementation of risk management initiatives that have helped reduce and combat fraud within their organisation and community. The KIN; a Kent-wide partnership between local authorities which tackles detection, prevention and deterrence of fraud and corruption – reported a rebilling to date of £387,304 due to incorrect/fraudulent SBRR relief claims after rolling out their initiative.
The initiative centred around the KIN implementing the Destin Solutions HUB solution which helped them proactively flag instances of suspected false claims with minimal effort and resource required by Kent Authorities, providing them with the information they needed to validate claims.
The ‘best use of technology’ award demonstrates how, with the use of technology, risks are identified, measured and managed; with positive impacts to business and operational objectives. The emphasis on the submission here was that by implementing the HUB technology, the KIN now have the ability to validate SBRR awards against business rates records nationwide, thereby pro-actively preventing fraud from entering the system and acting as a deterrent to others. It also provides the assurances needed to ensure that SBRR is correctly awarded in every case across Kent and that money recovered from incorrect awards is now reaching those crucial public services that need it.
Duncan Baxter, Director at Destin Solutions commented “we are increasingly starting to see more collaborative efforts across Authorities and Counties to tackle fraud and better manage risk. The Kent Intelligence Network are one of the first of their kind to report back on tangible results as a result of taking this inter-authority approach to combatting fraud. However, what really sets them apart is their ability to keep fine-tuning the solution, for example requesting comparisons against additional datasets, to help root out further instances of fraud.”
Winners will be announced on June 24th 2019 at an awards ceremony at the Principal Hotel, Manchester.
